American Beautyberry. This awesome native shrub is one of my favorite native berrying plants, which produces copious amounts of purple-colored berries literally encircling every branch in the fall. These are preceded by lavender flower clusters at each node from June to August. It grows well in part to full sun. This native plant has an amazing range even into the tropics. It is best pruned severely in late winter to induce more growth in the spring and summer. Since it flowers and fruits on current season's growth, this practice will encourage a larger fruit crop. Great for wild bird feed as well. Another incredible aspect of this plant is that one can crush its leaves and rub them on exposed skin as a mosquito repellent. It is effective for about 6 hours when one will need to repeat the procedure. It has been shared with me that one of the best natural mosquito repellants is the leaves of this species. Crush the green leaves rub them over the skin surface, and this gives one about six hours of protection.
Zones 6-11
