Scientific name: Callicarpa bodinieri 'Purple Pearl'
English name: Purple Pearl
Family: Verbenaceae (Lemon Verbena family)
Common names: White Lice Tree, Purple Pearl
Distribution: Eastern China, Central South, and Southwest provinces
Morphological Characteristics:
Purple Pearl is a deciduous shrub that typically grows to a height of 1.2 to 2 meters. It has slender branchlets with inconspicuous lenticels. The leaves are usually ovate-lanceolate, measuring 4–10 cm in length and 1.5–3 cm in width. They have an acuminate apex, narrowly cuneate base, serrated margins, and hairs on both sides of the veins. A red glandular spot is present on the abaxial surface. The leaf stalks are 2–8 mm long.
The inflorescences are cymose, with 3- or 4-fold branching, and the peduncles are slightly longer than the petioles or nearly equal. The calyx is covered with stellate hairs and red glandular dots, with barely visible teeth. The corolla is lavender with glandular spots, and the filaments are almost as long as the corolla. The anthers split longitudinally.
The branchlets are smooth, slightly purplish-red, and have a few stellate hairs. Leaves are opposite, obovate to elliptic, 7–15 cm long, with an acuminate tip and sparsely serrulate margin. The cymes are axillary, with a common stalk, and most flowers bloom in clusters. Buds appear purple or pink, and the flowers are white, pink, or light purple, blooming from June to July. The fruits are spherical, turning purple from September to October, shiny, and remain on the plant through winter.
Growth Habits:
Purple Pearl thrives in warm, moist, and sunny conditions. In colder northern regions, it should be planted in a sheltered, sunny location. It is relatively easy to manage, but during dry periods, regular watering is essential to avoid prolonged drought. This plant benefits from fertilization; when planting in spring, enrich the soil with compost as a base fertilizer. After the leaves fall in autumn, apply mature compost around the root zone and water thoroughly. Some shoots may die back in severe cold, but they can be pruned before spring growth resumes without affecting the next year’s flowering and fruiting. Annual pruning before spring sprouting helps remove dead branches, old shoots, and excess buds, while also thinning dense growth for better air circulation.
Use and Features:
Purple Pearl is a beautiful ornamental plant with striking flowers and vibrant, round, jewel-like fruits. It is ideal for garden landscaping and can also be grown in pots. Its blossoms can be cut for use as floral arrangements or bottle plugs. Traditionally, it has been used in folk medicine to treat conditions such as fever, thirst, dysentery, and skin itching. It was also used to address hemoptysis, hematochezia, uterine bleeding, and traumatic bleeding.
Main Varieties – Yellow-Haired Purple Pearl:
This variety is a shrub reaching about 3 meters in height. The twigs and young parts are densely covered with yellow-brown hairs. The leaves are opposite, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 12–22 cm long and 4–7 cm wide, with an acute apex, obtusely cuneate base, and serrated margins. The upper surface of the leaves is often hairy, while the lower surface is densely covered with yellow-brown hairs. There are 10–14 pairs of lateral veins, and the leaf stalks measure 1–2 cm in length. The cymes are axillary, with a short stalk (1–2 cm), and are densely covered with long trichomes. The flowers are sessile, clustered at the top of the inflorescence, and have prominent, pubescent hairs with four teeth. The corolla is tubular and four-lobed, with a fuchsia color and velvet texture. The stamens are four in number, with elongated anthers that split longitudinally. The ovary is four-loculed. The drupes are small, about 1.5 mm in diameter, lavender in color, and hidden within the calyx. Flowering occurs from late autumn to early spring of the following year.
Habitat: Grows on plains or in mountainous areas. Found in Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, and Taiwan.
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