This bush is the American Beautyberry, a native plant to our area. It is a deciduous bush, meaning that it loses its leaves in the winter. In the spring, after the bush has completely leafed out again, the bush will have clusters of tiny, light pink flowers. These flowers later turn into striking neon magenta-colored berries. The berries are packed tightly together in clusters around the stem as the flowers were. The showy clusters of fruit are at their best in late August and September, but will remain long into winter if the birds don’t eat them first.

American Robins, Northern Cardinals, and Northern Mockingbirds eat both the fresh berries and shriveled raisins. The birds then spread the seeds, which will readily germinate and grow in a wide variety of settings—moist to dry, open to shady. Because they are easily grown, you will see quite a few of them in the forest.

The berries can be made into jelly, similar to mayhaw jelly, and can also be made into wine. In addition, the leaves have reportedly been used as an insect repellant. Mississippi botanist Charles Bryson reports that his grandfather would cut beautyberry branches and crush the leaves, which he would then stick under the harnesses of his horses to keep away deer flies, horseflies, and mosquitoes. Dr. Bryson told the U.S. Agricultural Service about his grandfather’s remedy, and three insect-repelling compounds were successfully extracted from Beautyberry. One of them, callicarpenal, appears to be as powerful as DEET for keeping away mosquitoes.