Sambucus racemosa is a species of elder known by the common names red-berried elder and red elderberry. It produces a red drupe.

The species is native across much of the Northern Hemisphere. The plant is largely poisonous when raw, but the fruit can be cooked for consumption.

Sambucus racemosa is medium-sized shrub growing 2–4 m (7–13 ft) (rarely 6 m (20 ft)) tall. The stems are soft, with a broad pith.

Each individual leaf is composed of 5 to 7 leaflike leaflets, each of which is up to 4–8 cm (1+1⁄2–3+1⁄4 in) (rarely to 16 cm (6+1⁄4 in)) long, lance-shaped to narrowly oval, and irregularly serrated along the edges. The leaflets have a strong disagreeable scent when crushed.

The inflorescence is a vaguely cone-shaped panicle 3–6 cm (1+1⁄4–2+1⁄4 in) diameter, consisting of several cymes of flowers and produced on the ends of stem branches. The flower buds are pink when closed, and the open flowers are white, cream, or yellowish. Each flower has small, recurved petals and a star-shaped axis of five white stamens tipped in yellow anthers. The flowers are fragrant and visited by flies (particularly hoverflies), hummingbirds and butterflies.

The fruit is a bright red drupe (to purple-black in var. melanocarpa) containing 3 to 5 seeds. It is eaten by birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings. Its fruit persists for an average of 42.5 days, and bears an average of 3.0 seeds per fruit. Fruits average 88.0% water, and their dry weight includes 8.3% carbohydrates and 9.0% lipids, which is one of the highest lipid values among European fleshy fruits.

Other subspecies formerly included in S. racemosa include S. racemosa subsp. kamtschatica (now Sambucus kamtschatica), S. racemosa subsp. sibirica (now Sambucus sibirica), and S. racemosa subsp. sieboldiana (now Sambucus sieboldiana).

It is native to Europe, northern temperate Asia, and North America across Canada and the United States. It grows in riparian environments, woodlands, and other habitats, generally in moist areas.