| Author | (Loureiro) K. Koch | |
| Distribution | Scattered across the state, mostly in the southern portions. First collected in 1935 on the campus of Flora MacDonald College, behind the laundry (Scotland County).
Native of Asia; in N.A. PA to SC; also AL, AR, MO. | |
| Abundance | Rare. Apparently spreading in recent decades, but slowly. | |
| Habitat | Moist soils of powerlines, wet woods and swamp margins, montane bog, streambanks, lakeshore, campus weed. | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting July-November. | |
| Identification | Purple Beautyberry has a much different aspect than American Beautyberry (C. americana). This exotic species is less than half as tall and with far fewer branches. The leaves are narrowly elliptical and tapered to both ends, considerably smaller and more crowded on the branches than in the native species. The small pink flowers grow from axils in few-flowered cymes on slender stalks; the numerous rounded fruits are purple-violet, rather like in the native species, whose berries average somewhat more magenta and less violet. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | Previously thought to belong in the Verbenaceae, but molecular research proves otherwise.
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| Other Common Name(s) | | |
| State Rank | SE | |
| Global Rank | GNR | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | OBL link |
| USACE-emp | OBL link |
