Callicarpa japonica var. luxurians("Omurasakishikibu")
Japanese name: オオムラサキシキブ（大紫式部） Scientific name:Callicarpa japonica var. luxurians
[Overview]
A deciduous shrub 2–3 m tall.
It is found in woods and at woodland edges near the coast, and its leaves and inflorescences are larger than those of Murasaki-shikibu.
The trunk is slender and grows somewhat obliquely upward, and the young branches and inflorescences have stellate hairs.
The leaves are opposite, elliptic to ovate, 10–20 cm long, somewhat thick and glossy, with fine serrations.
The petiole is short.
The leaves turn yellow in autumn.
Cymes are borne in the leaf axils, and the inflorescence has a stalk.
The flowers are pale reddish purple and about 3–5 mm long; the corolla is 4-lobed, and the 4 stamens protrude slightly.
The fruit is spherical, about 5 mm across, and ripens purple.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
It prefers a sunny site with moisture-rich soil.
It tolerates partial shade, but flowering and fruiting become poorer if sunlight is insufficient.
Scale insects may attach to it.
