Common Names
American Beauty Berry
French Mulberry
Bermuda Mulberry
Spanish Mulberry
Turkeyberry
Sour-bush
Bunchberry
Filigrana de Mazobca
Filigrana de Pinar
Foxberry
Purple Beauty Berry
Higher Taxa
Class Dicotyledon (Magnoliopsida)
Order Lamiales
Family Verbenaceae
Genus Callicarpa
Species Americana
Identification
Charles Linnaeus is the authority who first described
the species
Callicarpa americana.
He described this species in Species Plantarium in 1753.
This species was first deposited at the Linnean Society of London.
Geography
Callicarpa americana is
found predominantly from Maryland, south to Florida and west to
Texas. To check the distribution of this species by region go
to this
How to Encounter
In the south it is almost impossible not to encounter the luminescent flowers of the American Beauty Berry. If you are the campus of the University of Georgia you may encounter this bush at numerous spots. At the bus stop preceeding Hardman Hall you may encounter a scene like this.
^M
The stone bearing fruit of the American Beauty Berry
ripens in September and October and persists until a hard frost
shrivels them. They are often harvested by brown thrashers, catbirds,
mockingbirds, an robins. The berry clusters follow the spring
and summer displays of small purplish-pink flowers. The multistemmed
shrub ranges from three to eight feet tall. Growing loose and
upright. The four- to six-inch leaves turn a yellow in the fall
and start to droop lik a dog's ears before coming detached from
the branches. This leaves only gray stems masked in brilliant
purple berries. Callicarpa
Americana is the only Callicarpa
that is native to the United States although there is a white-fruiting
form, C. Americana
var. Lactea. It may be
killed to the ground in areas where winter temperatures dip to
-5 or -10 degrees Fahrenheit but can bloom on new growth. American
Beauty Berry does best in fertile loam and likes ample moisture,
but will tolerate most soils and, upon maturation, can endure
drougts. It does well in part shade but flowers and fruits best
in full sun. It is disease resistant and does not appear to attract
pests. It will grow from seed, division hardwood/softwood cuttings
or plant transfer.(Hugo, 1993)
For more pictures of this beautiful berry bush during it's life span, click here. All pictures used in this page were retrieved from the WWW and are currently being used without permission. I am asking the sites for their permission.
NORTH AMERICA
Continental U.S.; Canada | HUGO, 1993 | |
EASTERN NORTH AMERICA: United States east of Mississipp i: Ontario and eastern Canada | HUGO, 1993 | |
SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES: AL AR DE DC FL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WV | HUGO, 1993 | |
SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN STATES: AL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WV | HUGO, 1993 | |
COASTAL PLAIN | ||
PIEDMONT | ||
BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS | ||
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK | ||
RIDGE AND VALLEY | ||
CUMBERLAND PLATEAU | ||
CENTRAL ARCH | ||
GEORGIA | ||
CLARKE COUNTY, GEOORGIA | ||
SAM'S FARM | ||
OLD FIELD | ||
WETLAND | ||
WOODS | ||
1-HECTACRE PLOT |