Beauty Berry (Callicarpa americana)

Season of Interest

Spring and late summer.

Climate

Subtropical

Plant Type

Shrub

This is a native shrub, called American beautyberry. It’s a small, sprawling plant that loses its leaves in the winter. You can see the small flowers that form in the spring. They will turn into clusters of shiny purple fruit wildlife love. The smallest birds to the black bear eat this fruit. Late summer hiking you can see big purple piles of poo on the trails. That’s a bear that ate its full of beauty berry! Don’t worry if you don’t already have bears it won’t make them come. Be more prepared to attract butterflies with the flowers and then dozens of species of birds will strip the fruit from a bush quite quickly once it’s located. This plant is very adaptable to different soil types and light exposure. It can grow under a big tree or in an open field. Once established it’s drought tolerant. It’s in a 3 gallon container, about 4’ tall by 4-5’ wide. Every branch is blooming.