Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst’ (Purple beautyberry)

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Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst’

Purple beautyberry

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Lamiales	Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary
Family	Lamiaceae	Mint family
Genus	Callicarpa	Beautyberries—small shrubs and trees, mostly Asian, also from the Americas and Australia
Species	dichotoma	Forked in pairs, repeatedly dividing into pairs of branches
Cultivar	‘Early Amethyst’

About plant names...

Beautyberry is native to China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan; and cultivated in the United States for hedges.

Plants: Shrubs are deciduous, and typically 3-4′ (91-121 cm) high and 4-5′ (1.2-1.5 m) around. This cultivar blooms earlier than most purple beautyberries, producing more fruit.

Leaves: Opposite, simple, bright medium green leaves, all on the same plane. Leaves are 1-3″ (2.5-7.6 cm) long.

Flowers: Lavendar-pink, appearing June to August.

Fruits: Brilliant purple showy berries in clusters. (Some cultivars have white berries.) They remain after leaves fall, looking even more dramatic.

Edibility: Berries are bitter, mealy, and inedible, though they are popular with squirrels and mockingbirds. Many sources consider them to be poisonous.

Online References:

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

The Missouri Botanical Garden