11/06/2024
Always check the Latin name when purchasing a Beautyberry plant. The photo on the left is the Callicarpa japonica - Japanese beautyberry, non-native. You can tell the difference by the way the native Callicarpa Americana berries are attached to the stem, not dangling. Also notice the size of the leaves, the native Beautyberry are much larger and are a different shape than the non-native.
Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is a deciduous shrub found naturally in the southeastern United States. It grows between 3 and 6 feet tall and wide on average, though it's been known to reach 9 feet tall. It has a moderate to fast growth rate, gaining around 1 to 2 feet per year until it is mature. Beautyberry’s native habitat is open meadows, thickets, or woodlands. In the spring, green leaves emerge on upright arching stems.
The shrub's clusters of berries are a food source for many songbirds, including the American Robin, Brown Thrasher, Purple Finch, and Eastern Towhee. The berries are also consumed by armadillos, foxes, opossum, raccoons, and squirrels.
Photo credits -- Margaret Hindman and Scott Keimig
