a growing food movement
Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana By Heather Brasell
This article is courtesy of the Coastal Plain Chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society. The GNPS is dedicated to promoting the stewardship and conservation of Georgia’s native plants and their habitats. The Coastal Plain Chapter serves the people in the Coastal Plain ecoregion of Georgia. This includes all areas south of the Fall Line in middle Georgia, from the Alabama and Florida borders to the Atlantic ocean. To learn more, please visit their website.
Beautyberry is a great addition to your garden or woods. A spectacular display in the fall, the beautyberry is a perennial shrub that has large arching stems laden with dense purple berry clusters. This native plant is not only attractive but also provides many benefits for humans and wildlife alike. Description Typical of plants in the verbena family, stems are 4-angled with oppositely arranged branches and leaves. Leaves are oval-shaped, 3-6� long, tapered at both ends, serrated margin, and slightly aromatic when crushed. Leaves turn yellowish in fall. Both stems and underside of leaves are covered with white star-shaped hairs that you can see with a hand lens. Shrubs produce flowers in June-July on current year branches. Flowers are densely clustered in leaf axils, small and pinkish with five petals. Fruits are produced August to November in
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