Sapphire Berry, Asiatic Sweetleaf                        sim-PLO-kos pan-ik-u-LA-ta

• Broadleaf deciduous shrub, to about 10 ft (3 m) high, outspreading branches, pubescent at first.   Leaves alternate, simple, ovate-elliptic to obovate-oblong, 3-7 cm long and about 3-4 cm wide, tip acute or acuminate, base broad wedge-shaped, margin finely serrate and rough to the touch, bright green above with impressed veins, slightly pubescent below; petiole to 1 cm.  Flowers white, about 1 cm across, fragrant (scented like Hawthorns), in terminal 4-8 cm wide clusters (panicles) on short shoots, 5-petaled, numerous stamens.  Fruit pea-sized, sapphire blue in large clusters.
• Sun, well-drained neutral or acidic soil.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 5         Native to Himalaya, eastern Asia.  Reportedly the cooked fruit is used in jams, jellies and sauce.
• paniculata: with flowers arranged in panicles.
• Salem, Oregon: northwest area of Bush Prairie Park.