There’s a shrub I think we ought to see more of around here, especially in the wintertime when a spot of cheerful color in the garden is just what some of us need to lift our spirits. It’s called beautyberry, or Callicarpa.

Those of you from down in the southeast part of the country are probably very familiar with the native version that thrives there. Like most beautyberries, Callicarpa Americana has bright amethyst-colored fruits that are arranged in tight little clusters down the length of each branch. The berries are such a bright shade of lustrous purple they look like they were designed by a second grader with new markers and painted with a light coating of frosted nail polish.

I first encountered beautyberry while on a trip to Florida, where I had the pleasure of tooling around in a golf cart at Amelia Island resort with a naturalist.

I don’t know about you, but having a naturalist on staff at a resort seems like a pretty cool thing to me and an opportunity not to be missed. We tasted the sour little fruits, which I understand some people make into jelly. I get the feeling lots of sugar is key to the success of that recipe, however.

The native beautyberry isn’t cold tolerant, but there are several other species which originated in Asia that do well in our climate and are deciduous. Losing their leaves actually adds to their charm because the berries, which develop in the fall, can then really stand out.

There’s Callicarpa dichotoma, which has bright green leaves, small pink to white flowers and those bright amethyst fruits. It grows to about four feet tall and equally as wide. It likes well drained soil and will do well in full sun or dappled shade. Like hydrangeas, beautyberries bloom on new wood, so prune yours back in late winter or early spring for a profusion of flowers.

Two other common species of beautyberry are Callicarpa bodinieri from western China and Callicarpa japonica, which is native to Japan.

Though it’s hard to believe, some people don’t get as excited about purple as I do. For them, there’s always Callicarpa Americana “Welch’s Pink,” which produces bright pink berries or Callicarpa dichotoma “Albifructus,” which bears white berries.

I’ve seen this shrub on at least one list of deer resistant plants, but knowing that the berries are edible, though on the tart side, I’d take that with a grain of salt (or sugar?)

Now that you’re an expert on beautyberry bushes, I know you’ll never make the mistake of thinking beautybush is the same plant. Callicarpa is in the Lamiaceae, or mint, family, while beautybush is in the Caprifoliaceae, or honeysuckle, family. Its scientific name used to be Kolkwitzia amabilis, but those busy little plant taxonomists renamed it Linnaea amabilis. Beautybush has arching branches like another honeysuckle family member, the weigela, and showy, inch long, tubular, pink flowers. And sadly, instead of bright purple berries, beautybush produces hairy brown capsules. What a letdown.