Purple Beautyberry

This is 'Komurasaki' or purple beautyberry. The other Japanese name is 'Koshikibu'. The botanical name is Callicarpa dichotoma.







There is a similar plant called 'Murasakishikibu', but this is slightly small and the breed is different. Here 'Murasakishikibu' is a Japanese famous female writer in Heian period (around 1000).

The Japanese name 'Koshikibu' comes from 'Koshikibu-Naishi', the daughter of 'Izumishikibu' who was a rival for 'Murasakishikibu'.


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Komurasaki : 小紫
* Koshikibu : 小式部
* Murasakishikibu : 紫式部