Callicarpa rubella.Beauty-berry

Callicarpa rubella
  Beauty-berry

This shrub from China is rarely grown now perhaps because it is fairly ungainly in habit and is difficult to form into a compact well rounded shape ,a trait now desired of almost all shrubs. The small shiny violet coloured berries which develop at this time of year are quite decorative and last long after the leaves have dropped off during winter. If picked for a flower arrangement the stems last well in a vase.The native species C. longifolia is found in north eastern parts of the country and is occasionally offered for sale though unlike this exotic species it is not frost hardy.
2017 update: I no longer grow this plant.