Botanical name: Symplocos paniculata    Family: Symplocaceae (Saphire-berry family)
Synonyms: Cotoneaster coreanus, Symplocos sinica, Symplocos chinensis

Sapphire Berry is a deciduous Shrub growing to 4 m by 4 m. Its leaves are 2 to 4 cm in width and from 3 to 8 cm in length on average. They are deciduous, thin, elliptic or ovate to rotundate, blade 4-8 cm long, 3.5-5.5 cm broad. Its fragrant flowers are hermaphrodite, 2-3 cm across, arranged in panicles, and creamy white. Sepals are light yellow, ovate to semi-orbicular, 1-1.5 mm, sometimes hairy below, margin ciliate. Flowers are 3-6 mm. Stamens 25-60. The bark of Sapphire Berry is gray and furrowed. Its drupes , 3-8 mm in average diameter, ripen from September to October. Their color is bright purple and blue. They can be eaten jelly. Birds are fond of them. Sapphire Berry is found in the Himalayas, from Kashmir to NE India, Burma, Indo-China, China, Korea, Japan, at altitudes of 1000-2500 m.

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The flower labeled Sapphire Berry is ...