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Purple 3

Posted by Viewfinder (Bradenton, FL, United States) on 7 November 2007 in Plant & Nature and Portfolio.

It was early October when I found these purple berries growing wild alongside a wooded area in North Port, Florida. Does anybody know what they are called? Please tell, because I really do not know.

Ironic sidebar: North Port, FL is about 40 miles due SOUTH of Bradenton. For some reason, that fact amuses me.

UPDATE: juant3 (see his comments below) has researched and identified this berry for us -- it is the American Beautyberry, part of the verbena family. Here's more. Thanks Juan!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL AT AM3. I am out and probably away from the computer all this week. We are headed to north Georgia to spend Thanksgiving with our son and his wife and her family. I hope everyone who celebrates this holiday has a wonderful day, filled with turkey and gratitude for every blessing. And those who do not, I hope will remember to count their blessings and be thankful. Packing and getting the SUV all set for the drive today; we leave very early Tuesday morning and plan to return sometime Sunday.

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Comments (29)

Newbie from Karachi, Pakistan

the purple color is just so rich wonderful!

7 Nov 2007 5:26am

@Newbie: I was amazed by the color when I first happened upon it.

Images by KC Photography from Redmond, United States

Beautiful purple colours

7 Nov 2007 5:39am

@Images by KC Photography: Thank you, I think so too.

Josh from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Those berries look very juicy! Could've been brighter?

7 Nov 2007 6:07am

@Josh: Maybe could have been lighter, but I didn't process this. What light you see is from the flash; remember these were on the edge of a wooded area. They were growing at about 2 feet in height, and it was rather dark under the canopy of trees.

ColNed Pictures from Amersfoort, Netherlands

This on is my fav so far.. what a bright color.. it's screaming to me to eat them... lovely captured !

7 Nov 2007 8:16am

@ColNed Pictures: Thanks -- they do look delicious. But in reading the research juant3 found, I'm afraid that you'd be disappointed if you ate these. Apparently not very sweet -- even the birds leave them until there's nothing left to eat in winter.

tyan from Singapore

wow such a rich purple and juicy looking!i wonder if they are edible?Because if it is i am going to stretch my hand into the screen,haha.I love this post a lot,VF

7 Nov 2007 8:57am

@tyan: Don't grab them off my screen, tyan. But take wisdom from the birds, who I found out leave them alone until there is nothing left. Not very sweet, even if beautiful.

Craiger from Vacaville, California, United States

Love the repetition!

7 Nov 2007 10:04am

@Craiger: Thank you!

juant3 from Bremen, Germany

Very nice macro! The color of these berries are really great!

If what I found is right (I wanted to know the name too), these are called "American beautyberry". You can read more about them at FloriData: Callicarpa americana or Wikipedia: Beautyberry.

Hope that helps!

7 Nov 2007 10:13am

@juant3: Wow! Great help indeed. Thank you juan; I really appreciate your effort in finding this information. I had not one clue.

vu@granby - gilles from Granby, Québec, Canada

Beauties, they are!
Nice shot.

7 Nov 2007 11:17am

@vu@granby - gilles: I appreciate your kind affirmation.

Organik from Australia

Wow VF! What a stunning colour! The richness is beautiful! Excellent photo!

7 Nov 2007 12:13pm

@Organik: Blushing purple... gee, thanks O-Mum.

Lorraine from Gatineau, Canada

I now declare you the Honourable Minister of all Things Purple...man, this is wonderful! Like a still life oil painting, wow :)

7 Nov 2007 12:47pm

@Lorraine: :-D
Thanks Lorraine. As my first official act, I'll say there's more purple stuff yet to come.

tyan from Singapore, Singapore

Dear VF,thanks for your kind words at my blog today,i have left a reply which i have copied here for your convenience:)

thank you for your kind encouragement,dear VF. You are right,i just registered Caleb for kindergarten next year,and yes in a twinkling of an eye,they will grow up and have their own lives.I suppose its just that work and self esteem just seems to go so closely together that my confidence level just plunged after i became a stay home mom.I think i need to remember Whom my self worth is found and Who has the right to decide who i am and how much i am worth.

7 Nov 2007 3:43pm

@tyan: You are welcome tyan. The "world" does not understand your reasons for giving of yourself this way. The "world" is all about "self" and this "self" wants to rise up and be pampered and indulged. Choosing to love your children enough to defy "self" for a while, and deny its petty demands is not something the "world" wants us to do, because then our enslavement to self-indulgence would be exposed for the fraud that it most certainly is. You are choosing the right path. Consider Psalm 90:12 as your mission statement, Mrs. Stay-at-home Mom. And be glad and wise in your calling. There will be time for doing other things.

Reza from Montreal, Canada

I like the color here.

7 Nov 2007 4:01pm

@Reza: So glad; I like your Irish girl's green.

amy from Rocky Mountain House, Canada

NICELY done!! That colour is gorgeous!!

7 Nov 2007 5:52pm

@amy: Thanks! Seeing these growing on their original bush is almost like being given a big purple celebration for the eyes.

M.E. from Encino, United States

well done! the color and composition works!

7 Nov 2007 6:04pm

@M.E.: Appreciate your kind assessment, M.E.

MaryB from Staffordshire, United Kingdom

Georgous Royal Purple coloured berries, with a beautiful name to go with them! Great DoF, and the natural shade, from the forest, adds to the richness of the colour.
Beautiful VF :)

7 Nov 2007 7:31pm

@MaryB: Thanks much, MaryB. A royal compliment, I'd say.

Tago from Quezon City, Philippines

Wonderful!

7 Nov 2007 8:11pm

@Tago: Thank you!

tvm from fröndenberg, Germany

+++

7 Nov 2007 8:49pm

@tvm: :) :) :)

FC from NewYork, United States

Well, I am so glad I came upon this today. Definitely surreal looking.

7 Nov 2007 9:29pm

@FC: Glad you did too. It is real, unprocessed; this is the true color. I'd never seen one of these before.

Rebecca from Leicester, United Kingdom

Absolutely Amazing texture and colour. For more than a moment I thought this was a solid sculpture of grapes/berries (I mean this in the best of ways!). Such vivid purples, and no sense of squishy-ness at all. Truly Wow, dear VF.

7 Nov 2007 10:31pm

@Rebecca: How gracious you are, Rebecca my dear friend! These are the prettiest wild berries I've ever seen. I can see why you'd think of grapes, but they are actually much smaller than grapes in real life -- more like large mulberries or large blackberries in size. But alas, they are said to be bitter/astringent to the taste. So not all that is beautiful is also sweet.

Nadine from Montréal, Canada

Great one !

7 Nov 2007 10:42pm

@Nadine: Many thanks for your comment and for visiting at my site today.

Takiyah from Snellville, United States

Beautiful color:)

7 Nov 2007 11:54pm

@Takiyah: Thank you Takiyah. Glad you stopped over. I got nosy at your site and checked out "about" and was excited to see you are a Louisiana native, too! What part? My wife and I come from NOLA. How do you like life in Atlanta/Snellville? We lived in Conyers for five years. My impressions: Atlanta is BIG and the traffic is way more than I want to deal with.

Ken McCoy from Orlando-Daytona Beach, FL, United States

Very nice shot! You make them seem very juicy :)

8 Nov 2007 4:07am

@Ken McCoy: Don't know from experience, but I'm told their taste is pretty bitter. At least they look inviting... heh.

Me 2 from Pixel City, United States

very nice shot ...... looks like a shot for a set of your very own greetings cards !

8 Nov 2007 1:28pm

@Me 2: Or a Hallmark moment... lol.

Rabbit from Richmond, United States

an American Beauty IT is! I'm delighted in your purple finds!

8 Nov 2007 3:45pm

@Rabbit: I'm delighted that you are delighted, Miz Rabbit. Hope your day is going swimmingly. Weekend's comin'...

bronzebilly u.k. from Barry,Vale of Glamorgan, United Kingdom

Wow V.F.--superb colour and focus on this image,as other commentee's they do look really juicy--billy

9 Nov 2007 12:56am

@bronzebilly u.k.: Thank you, old friend. I will not offer you a bite; they may be pretty but according to the songbirds who frequent these woods they aren't very tasty. And those birds ought to know.

Zing from Hamilton, New Zealand

Nice purple colour, great shot!

9 Nov 2007 5:37am

@Zing: Thank you Zing, and welcome to Look Closer!

Japanalia from Japan

This is right away gorgeous!!! Both the shoot and the colour! I love it!
Gabriela in Japan

11 Nov 2007 1:05pm

@Japanalia: Thank you Gabriela, I am very pleased that you like this and that you have come to visit this site. Come back often as you can!

ManuelaR from Hainburg, Germany

Wow! I have never seen those before, very interesting!

14 Nov 2007 11:39am

@ManuelaR: Neither had I. Thanks.

Suzanne Labbé from Granby, Québec, Canada

Juan,
I saw that plant few years ago and I felt in love with it. It was too nice. It was in Annapolis, MD area. I was trying to find it since then and last summer, I found 2 species that I have introduced in our garden. I hope it will succeed. The climate is colder here in Québec :o)

You will find more infos at this address : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautyberry

This is a great picture.

Suzanne

14 Mar 2008 9:23pm

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Nikon D80
1/60 second
F/5.6
ISO 200
138 mm (35mm equiv.)