Strawberrybush, or Hearts-a-Bustin’, is a unique, rhizomatous shrub with an unusual form that occurs in shady woodlands throughout the Southeast to Eastern Texas. Plants are 4-6 feet tall and multi-stemmed. The individual shoots are pencil-like and green with little branching. Leaves are long (~2 inches), opposite, and lance-shaped, colorful in fall. Most of the season it blends in with plants in woodlands or wood edges, with somewhat inconspicuous 5-parted flowers occurring in late spring. Then in the fall it makes a statement with it’s bright orange-to-scarlet berries dangling from warty, pink capsules. It is not a long-lived plant, but spreads easily by rhizomes providing the gardener with ready replacements. Although the berries are not edible by people (a very strong laxative), they support songbirds, wild turkeys and small mammals. Deer do adore to eat the stems and leaves of this plant, so much so that the presence of Strawberrybush is an indicator of low deer pressure.
