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Callicarpa americana

Common name:	American Beautyberry	Family:	Verbenaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-eastern N. America - Florida to Texas and north to Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Habitat:	Rich woods and thickets[43].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. americana var. lactea[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	American Beauty-berry [B], American Beautyberry [P,DEN1,H,FEIS], Beauty Berry [H], French Mulberry [L,H], Mulberry,Dwarf [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	callicarpa = beautiful seeded cana = grayed due to hairs
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lamiales. Verbena family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 1.8m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from June to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw[105, 177]. Juicy, sweet, fleshy, slightly aromatic[123]. The fruit is about 6mm in diameter[200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Diuretic.

A decoction of the root bark has been used as a diuretic[257].
The leaves are a cure for dropsy[61].
A tea made from the roots is used in the treatment of dysentery and stomach aches[222, 257].
A tea made from the roots and berries is used in the treatment of colic[222, 257].
Some native North American Indian tribes used the leaves and roots in sweat baths for the treatment of malaria, rheumatism and fevers[222, 257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a sunny position or light dappled shade[1, 200]. Prefers a highly fertile well-drained loamy soil[200].
This species is hardy to about -18° c according to one report[200] whilst another says that it is only really hardy in the milder parts of Britain, though some forms should prove to be hardier[1].
Requires cross-pollination for good fruit production[182].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow February in a greenhouse[78]. Only just cover the seed[138]. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 3 months at 18° c[138]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter, planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood 10cm long, July/August in a frame. High percentage[78].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth with a heel[78] taken in early spring[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for the family Verbenaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[123] ? Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th edition.
It contains a few things of interest to the plant project.

[138] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. 1989
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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