BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Callicarpa americana | American Beautyberry 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
American beautyberry is a large deciduous, bushy shrub.  It is prostrate
to erect and reaches heights of 3 to 12 feet (1.0-3.5 m).  The slender
stems are arched and the large leaves are opposite, with the smaller
leaves at the end of the twigs.  The short tubular flowers are borne
along the twigs at the base of the leaf axils. The fruit is a berrylike
drupe containing four small nutlets [6,19,29].



RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
American beautyberry is a prolific seed producer, and the literature
suggests that regeneration from seed is its primary mode of reproduction
[22,23].  The seed is dispersed by birds [25,29].  It also regenerates
vegetatively by sprouting, although details have not been described.


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
American beautyberry grows on a variety of sites in the Atlantic and
Gulf coastal plains of the southeastern United States.  It is mostly
restricted to climates with mild winters and long, hot, humid summers.
It grows best in clay or loamy soil but will also grow on sandy sites
[6,27,29,32].




SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
American beautyberry is an early- to mid-seral species that is shade
intolerant [3].  In the longleaf pine-bluestem (Pinus
palustris-Andropogon spp.) range in the Big Thicket region of eastern
Texas, American beautyberry was an early invader of openings created by
disturbance [31].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
American beautyberry flowers between June and July; the fruit ripens
from August to November [30].

Related categories for Species: Callicarpa americana | American Beautyberry