In message , NickH
writes

Can anyone identify a tree I saw when visiting Croydon in October?
It has pea sized, deep violet berries, each of which has four or five
pink bracts behind it, trailing to form the shape of a shuttlecock.

I assume it is not a native - and, being a Scot, I'm the other alien!

A (the?) plant with striking violet berries is Callicarpa. However, I
suspect that this isn't what you saw, as the commonly cultivated forms
at least have smaller berries, and lack the bracts.




--
Stewart Robert Hinsley