the only bush i know of that has red branches is red twig dogwood, but they don't grow to those dimensions, nor are the berries blue/purple.

are the branches lined with small needles?

I don't know what they are called (sorry!) but I have exactly the same thing. I've just hacked a ton of them down, as they tend to take over along the property line (we have a small, wildish, wooded area that separates our property from an adjacent field). I've let them go rampant in the back woods, though. They are kind of attractive, but the berries are a mess, not only when the kids get to them, but after the birds have digested and dropped them as well. They have like a fibrous "trunk" (more like a stalk) that goes hollow and collapses in the winter.
Sorry, I don't know the answer to your quiz, but would be interested to know the name of this "weed", as I consider it to be. I think it is a somewhat interesting and attractive plant, though.
Thanks for the trivia question!

I don't know what they are either. I hack them too.

Bob-
For some reason your post sounded like a quiz rather than an inquiry. I'm wondering if they really are native, or yet another brilliant 18th or 19th century "introduction" like Kudzu. Lots of real lovelies brought over on ship by budding botonists and horticulturists back then.....

I would guess that they are Silky Dogwood.

Here is a link that might be useful: Silky Dogwood

Wait. Red twig dogwood doesn't have the blue black berries? Then mine must be silky dogwood and were labeled incorrectly when I bought them. The berries are a stunning color and the bushes are loaded with them. Anyone know if birds like them? Haven't seen any interest yet.

katie

I have a Red Twig Dogwood and it definitely is not the plant that Bob is describing. There is nothing woody about it and it dies back completely in the winter.

BTW, Bob, do you have a Castor Bean plant? I received a seedling this year and it looks fabulous in my garden. It grows about 4' tall and has large, maple-shaped leaves and interesting red seed pods. It's looked great, despite the lack of rain, and the deer didn't seem to touch it. I'm going to save the seeds and grow some more plants in the Spring. Apparently they seed themselves pretty freely, although I doubt as freely as the mystery plant we've been discussing.

Are they really bushes? Yours may be but what Lisa Michelle is describing with the hollow stems that die back in the winter sounds like pokeweed. It can get pretty big and looks like it's a bush but it's actually a perennial. It's a native plant, kind of pretty and the birds love the berries but it is a bit weedy. I pull seedlings up all summer. In spite of that I do like it.

This website isn't in english but it had some of the best pictures I found.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pokeweed

Yep, pokeweed. Comes up all over my property..constantly pulling seedlings. Would take over it left by itself!

Aaaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhhh. Devil Weed.

That's it!

Maybe we can open a cannery and sell "poke salet."

Here is a link that might be useful: Poke Salet Anyone

I remember well that song "Polk Salet Annie" from my youth. I pulled off a cluster of ripe berries once and lived with stained fingers for days!

I have just moved to western PA from California and have the same at the edge of our property. A neighbor mentioned that they might be Elderberry.