(Callicarpa americana)
The Verbena Family (Verbenaceae)
French Mulberry, also called American Beautyberry, is a short shrub with opposite, deciduous leaves, pink-blue tubular flowers and bright purple berries that attach in rounded clusters around the stems.
Habitat:
Moist woods, coastal plains, swamp edges, bottomlands.
Interesting Facts:
Native Americans used teas made from roots and leaves to treat rheumatism, stomach ailments, and malaria. The berries were also eaten. It grows in disturbed areas and serves a colonizing plant in damaged forests. Studies have found that French Mulberry contains a natural insect repellent.
Fruit:
Bright purple, small berries in multiple groups, .25" in diameter.
Flower:
Small, pink to bluish, tubular, appearing from leaf axils in mid to late summer.
Wildlife value:
Berries and foliage are a common food source for mammals and berries are a winter food source for several songbirds.
Fruit
Flowers
Leaf type:
Simple
Pollinator:
Wildlife value:
Tree dimensions:
Leaf length: 3.00-5.00 inches
Tree height: 3.00-6.00 feet
Where to find French Mulberry on the Louisiana State Arboretum Trails:
WAB - Walker Branch Trail 1.0
Refer to our Live Map to locate this species and its interpretative signage on the trail system.