American Beautyberry – Callicarpa americana

General Landscape Uses: Accent flowering shrub in residental and commerical landscapes. Also useful in buffer plantings.

Ecological Restoration Notes: A relatively common shrub of forest edges nearly throughout South Florida.

Description: Medium bushy shrub with arching branches forming a large mound. Leaves coarse, 2-6 inches long, aromatic when crushed.

Dimensions: Typically 5-9 feet in height. Usually as broad as tall and sometimes broader.

Growth Rate: Fast.

Range: Southeastern United States, Maryland and Missouri west to Texas and south to the Monroe County Keys; Bermuda, Bahamas and Cuba. Very rare in the Monroe County Keys and perhaps absent south of Key Largo.

Habitats: A wide range of terrestrial ecosystems.

Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy, limestone or organic soils, usually with a humusy top layer.

Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.

Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.

Salt Wind Tolerance: Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.

Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.

Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.

Flower Color: Pink or rarely white.

Flower Characteristics: Semi-showy in dense clusters.

Flowering Season: All year; peak spring-summer.

Fruit: Red-purple berry-like drupe, rarely white. Very showy clusters in the leaf axils. All year; peak summer-fall.

Wildlife and Ecology: Provides significant food and moderate amounts of cover for wildlife. Nectar plant for butterflies. Birds eat the attractive fruits.

Horticultural Notes: Grown from seed. Clean pulp from seed by rubbing on a paper towel or by placing into a blender with water and then straining. Sprinkle seeds into a pot with 2″ or more potting soil. Place in light shade or full sun and keep moist.

Comments: This is an excellent and adaptable shrub for nearly throughout South Florida. Periodic heavy pruning nearly to the ground encourages new growth.