Japanese name: ホウライムラサキ（蓬莱紫） Scientific name:Callicarpa formosana
[Overview]
A deciduous shrub 2–5 m tall.
The twigs have pale yellowish-brown hairs.
The leaves are opposite, ovate to elliptic, 5–17 cm long and 2.5–9 cm wide, with fine serrations.
The upper leaf surface is sparsely hairy and rough, and the underside has yellowish-brown hairs and glandular dots.
Cymes 4–5 cm across are borne in the leaf axils, each on a stalk 1.5–2.5 cm long.
The flowers are reddish purple and about 1.5 mm across, with a 4-lobed corolla.
The fruit is spherical, 2–3 mm across, and ripens to indigo purple.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
It prefers sunny, moisture-rich soil.
It tolerates partial shade, but with less sun, flowering and fruiting become poor.
Scale insects may appear.
