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The leaves are very different from normal elderflower, but the flowers look normal. I've found one that looks like it, but it has dark leaves and pink-ish flowers (it's called black lace). Could this be a mix between black lace and normal elderflower? There didn't seem to be any black lace elderflower anywhere nearby.
The foliage looks similar to "Lemony Lace" Elderberry but that variety is a more neon green. Perhaps it's a hybrid or the narrower leaves are a response to the local growing conditions.
There seems to be normal lace leaf elderberries, too: https://ecologiadesign.com/lace-leaf-elderberry/
I suppose the unusually coloured ones are more popular.
(Could be a natural mutation, perhaps? Those special varieties have to have mutated somewhen, too.)
Oh, thanks! That's probably it, then! I'll look into it more and keep an eye on it for a season. If it is lace leaf I might try to take a cutting 😏
Thanks! I actually looked at sambucus racemosa first, but the pictures that came up didn't look like it. This lemony lace looks more like it. I'll come back to check its berries once it gets some.
There is also something called Cut Leaf Elderberry: https://ediblelandscaping.com/products/cut-leaf-elderberry and https://conservationgardenpark.org/plants/535/cutleaf-elderberry
It has white flowers and then purple berries. To me it looks more like this than the lemony lace, which is a different green and the other lace leaf which has a more purple hue.
Not elder.
There are A LOT of plants that have flowers like this. Look at cow parsley, for example. Poison hemlock does, too. In fact, there's an entire family of plants called Apiaceae, formerly known as Umbelliferae, that have flowers like this. This type of flower is called an umbel (it looks like an umbrella).
More info https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apiaceae
You can't see it from this picture, but it's taken from a bridge. The plants in the picture are trees for certain. It stands surrounded by normal elderflowers which is why it stood out so much.
I'm very familiar with the apiaceae family. I have lots in my garden (and basically a hefge of cow parsley 😅). Growing up my parents always put extra focus on being careful around these kinds of plants. So you are right to point it out when that's what you see :)