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American beautyberry Verbenaceae Callicarpa americana L. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: CAAM2
Leaf: Opposite, simple, elliptical to ovate, serrated margin, 3 to 5 inches long, fuzzy above and below, green above, white woolly beneath.
Flower: Small, pink to bluish, tubular, appearing from leaf axils in mid to late summer.
Fruit: Numerous, small, 1/4 inch in diameter, bright purple, ripens in late summer to early fall.
Twig: Slender to moderate, scruffy gray-scaly and brown, light lenticels, oval leaf scar with a single bundle scar, buds small and naked or with a few scales.
Bark: Brown with numerous raised lenticels.
Form: Open shrub reaching heights up to 6 feet.
Looks like: fringetree

American beautyberry leaf image
American beautyberry flower image
American beautyberry fruit image
American beautyberry twig image
American beautyberry bark image
American beautyberry form image
American beautyberry map image

Additional Range Information: Callicarpa americana is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information