Clerodendrum bungei

This plant is a deciduous shrub native to China, Taiwan, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Its opposite, broad oval to heart-shaped leaves have toothed margins and an unpleasant smell when crushed. Young foliage may be flushed purple. Dense flower clusters form at the branch tips. The fragrant pink to reddish-purple flowers have narrow tubes and spreading lobes, with stamens and a slender style projecting beyond the corolla. Nearly round fruits ripen blue-black. Underground shoots produce suckers that can emerge away from the parent and form dense stands. It is naturalized in Florida, where it can become a nuisance in gardens. The shrub is cultivated as an ornamental and propagated from suckers, stem cuttings, or root cuttings. Photographed in Florida.