French mulberry
Callicarpa americana L.
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Form
French-mulberry form
Habitat
French-mulberry habitat
Leaves
French-mulberry leaves French-mulberry leaves French-mulberry: leaf arrangement
Twigs
French-mulberry twigs French-mulberry twigs French-mulberry twigs
Bark
French-mulberry bark French-mulberry bark
Flowers
French-mulberry flowers
Fruit
French-mulberry fruit French-mulberry: immature fruit French-mulberry: maturing fruit French-mulberry: maturing fruit French-mulberry: mature fruit French-mulberry: mature fruit French-mulberry: single fruit
:: White Variant - Flowers ::
French-mulberry flowers: white variant
:: White Variant - Fruit ::
French-mulberry fruit: white variant French-mulberry fruit: white variant French-mulberry fruit: white variant French-mulberry fruit: white variant French-mulberry fruit: white variant
  • FAMILY: VERBENACEAE
  • ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: American beautyberry
  • LEAVES: deciduous, opposite, simple; blades elliptic, 3-6” long and 1-4” wide, yellowish-green above; margins serrate to crenate; surfaces pubescent, texture papery; leaves strongly aromatic
  • FLOWER: perfect (bisexual), pink, in axillary compound cymes; flowering in spring and early summer
  • FRUIT: drupe with four pits, ca. 0.2” broad, violet to purple, white in some strains; fruiting cymes tend to encircle nodes; fruiting in late summer and fall
  • TWIGS: older twigs light brown, leaf scars round to obcordate with one vascular bundle scar
  • BARK: brown with numerous raised lenticels
  • FORM: shrub to 6’ tall
  • HABITAT: dry to mesic pine or mixed pine-hardwood forests, fencerows, clearcuts, old fields, brushy rangeland
  • WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Upland (FACU): Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
  • RANGE: southeastern US [US County Range Map]
  • USES: ornamental
  • WILDLIFE: many birds, whitetail deer, raccoons, opossums eat fruit; low- to moderate-value whitetail deer browse
    • Best Recognition Features:
    1. shrub of well-drained sites with opposite, yellowish-green, aromatic leaves
    2. flowers and fruit in axillary compound cymes, especially conspicuous when fruiting
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