S. nigra: small tree or shrub; leaves pinnate, with 5-7 ovate, pointed, sharply-toothed segments; flowers white or cream-coloured, in broad cymes of about five main branches, many times divided; fruits black. - Woods, coppices, and waste places. Fl. June.

S. Ebulus: stems erect, thick, pithy, 2-3 feet high; leaf-segments 7-11, lanceolate, serrated, with a smaller one on each side of the leafstalk, looking like stipules; cymes with three primary branches; flowers white, or tinted outside with purple; fruits black. - Dane wort. - Uoadsides and rubbishy wastes. Fl. August.