American Beautyberry

Description:

American beautyberry) is an open-habit, native shrub of the Southern United States which is often grown as an ornamental in gardens and yards. American beautyberries produce large clusters of purple berries, which birds and deer eat, thus distributing the seeds. This photo shows the dried berries in late fall after the plant has lost its leaves. It is a member of the Verbena family (Verbenaceae).

Habitat:

This one was photographed along the Tanager Trail at the Silver Bluff Audubon Center near Jackson (Aiken County), SC. The native range of C. americana extends from Maryland to Florida, west to Texas and Arkansas, and also Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas and Cuba.

Notes:

The raw berries, while palatably sweet, are suitable for human consumption only in small amounts, because they are astringent; they are also used in jellies. The roots are used to make herbal tea. As a folk remedy it has been claimed that "fresh, crushed leaves of American beautyberry, Callicarpa americana . . . helped keep biting insects away from animals such as horses and mules. An isolated plant compound, callicarpenal, has reportedly been proven effective in tests as a mosquito repellent.