Beautyberry

Beautyberry

Botanical Name: Callicarpa americana
Family Name: Lamiaceae
Origin: Asia, N. America, S. America

Along the sidewalk of the Market Street entrance to the property, you’ll find a lovely line of bushes with long wavy stems. They are Beautyberry shrubs, native to Virginia and much of the U.S.

Their name in Latin is “Callicarpa Americana” or “American beautyberry.”  If you visit us in the spring, you’ll find delicate pink or white blooms. If you visit us in the fall, you’ll see the vibrant purple or white clusters of berries that often outlast the fallen autumn leaves.

Not only is the bush beautiful, but it was also useful. Native Americans used the root and leaf for tea and the leaves in sweat baths for rheumatism, fevers and malaria. Root tea was also taken to relieve dysentery and stomach aches.

The leaves are very simple: toothed, green, ovate and elliptic.  The stems are loose and gracefully arching. They can grow up to 10 feet in an ideal environment.

Beautyberries are very easy plants to grow in sand, loam and clay and enjoy the heat. They withstand drought, insects and disease. They are ideally suited for the Virginian climate.

The berries draw multiple types of wildlife: forty species of songbirds, multiple butterflies, white tailed deer and even cattle (who love to chew on the twigs).

And the berries…well, not so tasty until you use them in jellies, tea or American beautyberry wine.

Folklore

Early 20th century farmers placed fresh, crushed Beautyberry leaves beneath horse and mule harnesses so the plant’s oils could repel biting bugs. (Medicinal Herb Information)

Recipe for Beautyberry bug repellent (said to be as effective as deet):

One cup crushed leaves, 4 ounces rubbing alcohol, 2 drops body wash, personal spray bottle.

Instructions: Put crushed leaves into mason jar, cover leaves with rubbing alcohol and let stand two days, strain mixture, add two drops body wash and pour into strainer.

* Re-apply every two hours for best results.

Medicinal Uses

For over a century, crushed beautyberry leaves have been used to keep mosquitos from biting. Modern scientific evidence backs up this folk usage. Researchers at the US Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service in Mississippi have shown recently that several terpenoid compounds extracted from the leaves (callicarpenal, intermedeol, and spathulenol) have the potential to be as effective as DEET in preventing mosquito bites. These compounds can also deter fire ants from mound building, at least in a laboratory setting. (GNPS 2018)