Companion species
Pick one plant and see what grows with it: the natives that share its ground in the wild, and the ones that pair with it in a yard because they want the same sun, soil and climate.
In the wild
American Beautyberry grows in the forest understory, old fields and edges, sandy barrens and the coast
These natives share that ground, so they will look right together and want the same care.
American HazelnutCorylus americana shares the forest understory and old fields and edges
American PersimmonDiospyros virginiana shares old fields and edges and sandy barrens
Black HuckleberryGaylussacia baccata shares sandy barrens and the forest understory
Blackhaw ViburnumViburnum prunifolium shares the forest understory and old fields and edges
Bristly Locust (Rose Locust)Robinia hispida shares sandy barrens and old fields and edges
Eastern RedbudCercis canadensis shares the forest understory and old fields and edges
NannyberryViburnum lentago shares old fields and edges and the forest understory
Beach PlumPrunus maritima shares the coast and sandy barrens
In the yard
Trees to plant it under
American Beautyberry takes some shade, so it can live beneath these.
How the matches are made
Every species we grow is tagged with the natural communities it lives in: floodplain forests, swamps, stream banks, rich slopes, dry ridges, sandy barrens, rocky ground, old fields, the forest understory, the mountains and the coast. Wild neighbors are the species that share one or more of those tags, with the closest matches first. Yard pairings use the plant's own needs instead: overlapping hardiness zones and soil moisture, and for the shade pairings, a size difference of at least two classes and a smaller plant that tolerates part shade or shade.
Sharing a habitat tag does not mean two plants always grow side by side, and a tag says nothing about how far apart to plant them. Use the planting-site check for the spot itself, and the growth estimator for how much room each one will want in twenty years.