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Useful
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Shrub |
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Callicarpa
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| Other Names for this Plant |
beautyberry, French mulberry, American mulberry, wild goose’s berries, Bermuda mulberry, Sour berry, Sow berry
American beautyberry occurs naturally from Maryland, south to Florida, and southwesterly into Tennessee, Arkansas, and Texas
American beautyberry is an outstanding deciduous shrub that grows 6-8 ft (1.8-2.4 m) tall with a loose, open form and outward pointing branches. This shrub makes a coarse appearance large toothed green to yellow-green leaves 6-8 in (15-20 cm) long and pubescent beneath. In springtime, tiny lilac flowers appear. These are held in clusters called cymes that arise from the leaf axils (where the leaf joins the stem). By autumn the flowers give rise to berrylike 1/4 in (0.6 cm) drupes in striking metallic shades of magenta and violet in the fall. The beautyberries are packed tightly together in clusters that encircle the stem.
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Tounge Order (Mints) |
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Main, Real, Two First-Leaves (Dicots) |
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Real, Two First-Leaves (Dicots) |
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Half Capsule Seed Division |
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Magnolia Division |
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Seed Plants |
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Multiple Spore Sub-Kingdom |
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Multicellular Land Plants |
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Cells with a Nucleus |
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The roots, leaves and branches of the American beautyberry were used by the Alabama, Choctaw, Creek, Koasati, Seminole and other Native American tribes for various medicinal purposes
Medicinal Uses: A decoction of the root bark has been used as a diuretic. The leaves are a cure for dropsy. A tea made from the roots is used in the treatment of dysentery and stomach aches. A tea made from the roots and berries is used in the treatment of colic. Some native North American Indian tribes used the leaves and roots in sweat baths for the treatment of malaria, rheumatism, and fevers
The roots, leaves, and branches were made into a decoction that was used in sweat baths to treat both malarial fevers and rheumatism. The boiled plant parts were poured into a big pan that was placed near the patient inside a sweathouse. A similar decoction of the roots was used to treat dizziness and stomachaches. The roots of Callicarpa americana were boiled with roots from Rubus spp. to make an infusion to treat dysentery. The roots and berries were boiled and drunk to treat colic. The bark from the stems and roots was used to treat itchy skin. A tea from the root bark was taken to treat urine retention or “urine stopped-up sickness.”
The raw berries, while palatably sweet, are suitable for human consumption only in small amounts, because they are astringent; they are also used in jellies. The roots are used to make herbal tea.
American Beautyberry
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American Beautyberry
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| Comment:
American Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana |
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