Callicarpa americana French Mulberry
American Beauty Berry Seeds and Plants
(ka-lee-KAR-pa  a-me-re-KAH-na)
Easyliving Native Perennial wildflowers
Native Wild Flower Plants & Seeds for Home Landscaping and Native Plant Restoration

For other wild flowers visit the wildflower seed list, to order copy the orderform or 
email questions, comments, and orders to john@easywildflowers.com  

Callicarpa americana, American Beauty Berry or French Mulberry
 potted plants are available, $5.00 each plus UPS shipping
please email us with your address for the shipping cost on potted plants

Packet, Ounce and Pound quantities of seed may be available in the fall
Callicarpa americana, American Beauty Berry or French Mulberry is a  multiple stemmed shrub with the most unusual colored fruit of any of our native species varying from violet to ultramarine blue-purple or pink and is a very attractive addition to the home flower beds or yard.  Native Callicarpa American Beauty Berry seeds are eaten by several species of birds including bobwhite quail and by raccoon, opossum, gray fox and squirrel.  American Beauty Berry has fruits August to November, they are sweet and berrylike, in expanded clusters on the stems and are 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter.

Alternate names

Beautyberry (Callicarpa means “beautyberry”), French mulberry, American mulberry, wild goose’s berries

 The roots, leaves and branches of the American beautyberry were used by the Alabama, Choctaw, Creek, Koasati, Seminole and other Native American tribes for various medicinal purposes.  The roots, leaves and branches were made into a decoction that was used in sweat baths to treat both malarial fevers and rheumatism.  The boiled plant parts were poured into a big pan that was placed near the patient inside a sweathouse.  A similar decoction of the roots was used to treat dizziness and stomachaches.  The roots of Callicarpa americana were boiled with roots from Rubus spp. to make an infusion to treat dysentery.  The roots and berries were boiled and drunk to treat colic.  The bark from the stems and roots was used to treat itchy skin.  A tea from the root bark was taken to treat urine retention or “urine stopped-up sickness.” 

 The fruits of American beautyberry are an important food source for many species of birds including bobwhite quails, mockingbirds, robins, towhees, and brown thrashers.  Animals that eat the fruit include armadillos, raccoons, wood rats, gray foxes, opossums, and white-tailed deer.  The long-lasting fruits provide food for birds and animals well into the winter months when other food-sources are unavailable. 

 Beautyberry shrubs are raised for their ornamental flowers as well as their colorful clusters of fruits. 

  Vervain Family (Verbenaceae).  American beautyberry is a native, perennial shrub.  These small, deciduous shrubs reach from 1 to 2 m in height.  The leaves are opposite, elliptical to ovate in shape (7 to 15 cm long) and have saw-toothed margins.  The under-side of the leaves can be covered with white or rust-colored woolly hairs.  The inconspicuous blue, violet, pink, or white flowers are borne in axillary clusters that bloom from late spring to early summer.  The flowers are funnel-shaped with four clefs.  The round, showy, violet or magenta drupes or fruits are 4-5 mm in diameter.  The very juicy fruits, containing from 2 to 4 seeds, begin to ripen in August or September.  These colorful fruits remain on the shrubs long after the leaves drop. 

American beautyberry shrubs occur in dry open woods, moist woods, thickets and hammocks.  They occur as understudy species in upland pine forests, upper slope pine-oak forests and old-growth maritime forests.  These shrubs are adapted to climates with hot, humid summers and moderate winters. 

Beautyberry shrubs may be propagated by softwood cuttings, but they are primarily grown from seed.  The seeds do not require pretreatment for germination.  The many volunteers that this plant produces are very hearty and can be dug up and transplanted elsewhere in a more desirable location.  The plants do well in partial shade and sunny locations in well-drained soils.  The shrubs have a denser habit and produce more fruit in sunny locations. 

no pretreatment is needed for seed germination. 

Native Callicarpa americana American Beauty Berry plants occur naturally on wooded slopes from Florida, north to Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and northern Mexico. 

The map below shows areas where native Callicarpa americana American Beautyberry plants grow wild but it can be planted and will grow over a wider area than shown.  USDA plant hardiness zones 5 to 10.

Use the chart below for shipping charges on Callicarpa americana Beauty Berry flower seeds, to order copy the order form or email questions, comments & orders to john@easywildflowers.com 

The minimum seed order amount is $10, this can be a combination of different seeds.

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Easyliving Wildflowers
PO Box  522
Willow Springs,  Mo.  65793
phone-fax 417-469-2611 

Callicarpa americana, American Beauty Berry or French Mulberry Plant distribution map complements of USDA, NRCS. 2001. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.1
  (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.