Callicarpa americana

The American beautyberry is a woody, deciduous, perennial shrub that produces showy purple fruits in the fall. It is a member of the Lamiaceae (mint) family and is native to the central and southeastern United States, Bermuda, and Cuba. 

The shrub prefers full sun to part shade and is intolerant of deep shade. It will grow in all types of soil provided there is good drainage. Allow 3 to 6 feet of space for planting unless regular pruning is done. Pruning is best done in late winter. Prune low and avoid fertilizer to reduce height and fruit set.  It is recommended that old canes be removed for rejuvenation of the shrub because the flowers and fruits appear on new shoots. It can be propagated by seeds or stem cuttings.

Beautyberry’s native habitat is open meadows, thickets, woodlands and margins of ponds, ditches and streams. In the spring, green leaves emerge on upright arching stems. Clusters of small flowers bloom on the stems during the late spring and early summer. Clusters of purplish to bluish berries develop August through October and encircle the stem. A pink-fruited and several white-fruited forms have been found. The fruits may last through early winter. They are a good food source for songbirds and small mammals. The leaves, when crushed, produce a chemical that can repel mosquitos, ticks, and fire ants. 

This shrub is suited for mass plantings, large landscapes, naturalized areas, pond margins and container gardening. They seem to produce more fruit if several more of the same type of shrubs are planted nearby. American beautyberry is also at home in a butterfly garden, children’s garden, native garden, pollinator garden, and winter garden. 

This plant was selected as the 2021 NC Wildflower of the Year, a program managed by the North Carolina Botanical Garden with some financial support from the Garden Club of North Carolina.

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems.  

VIDEO: Part of the Native Plant Picks series from the North Carolina Sea Grant-led Coastal Landscapes Initiative.

Additional video for Callicarpa americana created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee.