– Growth:
– Temperate species are deciduous
– Tropical species are evergreen
– Leaves are simple, opposite, and 5–25cm long
– Flowers are in clusters, white to pinkish
– Berries are 2–5mm diameter, pink to red-purple, with a metallic lustre
– Familiar species:
– American beautyberry is native to the southeastern United States
– Callicarpa bodinieri is native to west-central China
– Japanese beautyberry is native to Japan
– Purple beautyberry is native to Japan, China, and Korea
– Ornamental varieties of Callicarpa americana have pink or white berries
– Uses:
– American beautyberry used as a folk remedy to prevent mosquito bites
– Four chemicals from Callicarpa act as insect repellents
– Callicarpenal from Callicarpa patented as a mosquito repellent
– Various species of Callicarpa used for insect repellent properties
– Berries of Callicarpa used to make wine and jelly
– Insect repellent:
– American beautyberry chemicals act as insect repellents
– Callicarpenal patented as a mosquito repellent
– Various Callicarpa species used for insect repellent properties
– Folk remedy uses Callicarpa to prevent mosquito bites
– Berries of Callicarpa are important survival food for birds and animals
– External links:
– Wikimedia Commons has media related to Callicarpa
– Additional information available on the Wikipedia page for Callicarpa