BEAUTYBERRY 



Callicarpa americana Linnaeus 



Beautyberry is one of the common plants of the Southern States, 

 growing in moist thickets or in dry, sandy places. It is a bushy shrub, 

 sometimes as much as six feet tall. The small, bluish or pinkish 

 flowers, appearing in spring in dense clusters in the axils of the leaves, 

 are rather inconspicuous. In autumn they are followed by bunches 

 of juicy fruits of an unusual tint, making a large bush a magnificent 

 sight. The fruits persist well through the winter, unless eaten by 

 birds. This plant is a member of the Verbena Family, and is some- 

 times called French mulberry, apparently because of a remote resem- 

 blance of the fruit clusters to mulberries. 



This native species is much more showy than the related Asiatic 

 species, but is rarely cultivated. It occurs from Florida northward to 

 Virginia and westward to Texas and Missouri. 



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