We hope you enjoy this delightful native plant! Now you know how to forage or grow beautyberries, use beautyberry leaves as an insect/mosquito repellent, and use beautyberries as a food. Either way, beautyberries are a great plant to have in your yard. We had virtually no rain for 8 weeks, and temperatures stayed in the low-mid 90s throughout the drought. I’ve made a large batch of insect repellent with leaves I harvested when we trimmed some plants at East Lake County Chamber of Commerce, and I’m happy to report that it is effective against mosquitoes. An element of the beautyberry, callicarpenal, allegedly serves as an effective mosquito repellent. However, the fruit does make delicious jelly, syrup, or wine. Ripe berries on Beautyberry (Photo: Nicole Elmer) Around this time of year, this shrub is difficult to miss. September 22 2012 We actually identified naturally occurring chemicals in the plant responsible for this activity.”. It is in flower from June to July. Move to the next branch and continue. Ripe beautyberries in our harvest basket. Add gelatin/beautyberry juice mix. These can be stored for up to a month. Beautyberry tea is quite simple to make. Water Wednesday Recap – Water Gone Virtual, Scouting and Identifying Bad Bugs in the landscape, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Tiny pink flowers appear in spring and early summer, followed by tight clusters of deep purple berries in the fall that are a food source to birds and other wildlife. In early spring, sow seeds 1/4″ deep in small containers with seed starting mix. Read on to find out how to make it! Remove seeds and store in fridge over winter. We are thinking of planting a bush in their run and are considering something they can also forage, such as beautyberries. Rich, well-draining soil is ideal, but here again, the plant is versatile and can grow in a wide variety of soil types and conditions. 2. Next time we go to our beautyberry spot, we’ll bring some back for a duck trial. Food explorer, seed & soil geek, duck evangelist, writer, health nut, and entrepreneur. Seeds should germinate within 2-3 weeks. If you’re growing beautyberries in your yard or garden, don’t bother to amend your soil before planting. contain high levels of beneficial antioxidant compounds, which give them their purple color. Pour into baking dish or molds then place into fridge for a minimum of 2 hours before serving. Identifying Beautyberry. Discover (and save!) He also serves on the board of the Diversified Agriculture Committee for the South Carolina Farm Bureau. [Quick Start to Composting Part 3] - … From the same plant? The berries ripen from green to a bright purple color in late summer-early fall. Cut 6-8″ stems from mature beautyberry plants in the late winter ~6-8 weeks before the plant has broken dormancy. First strain – Strain through metal pasta strainer to remove seeds and skin. The fruit of Beautyberry is edible to wildlife and people, but you won’t be impressed with the flavor or texture of the raw berries. Native plants tend to have long-established, mutually beneficial relationships with native animals. American Beautyberry Leaves. Some states offer American Beautyberry for free while some cultivars can be expensive. Below are some process photos to help you if you’re making this recipe for the first time. We decided to stop when I discovered my mom was inches away from a thriving paper wasp nest that was hidden away in some undergrowth. Become a Partner. However, they are quite good once cooked and properly prepared. Place containers outdoors in sunny spot after germination. American Beautyberry is, as the name implies, a plant that is gorgeous when the berries are ripe. Beautyberries aren’t something you’ll want to eat by the handful like blackberries or strawberries, but they can be used to make a number of very tasty and unusual recipes, a few of which we’ll detail in this article. Perfectly ripe clusters of beautyberries can easily be stripped off of the plant in their entirety by swiping your hand down the stem of the plant. Thanks so much it was wonderful reading about this beauty! Crush beautyberry leaves in your hand and rub them on yourself. However, the most impressive use for beautyberry may be as a mosquito repellent. However, note that you should use the leaves of the plant, not the berries, if you’re going for an insect repellent. Here’s how: 1. Even if your ducks don’t like them, you’ll have berries for yourself and leaves you can use as a mosquito repellent. While there’s no available data we’ve seen on beautyberry nutrition, our guess — based on the berries’ flavor and color — is that beautyberries: You can use your concentrated beautyberry juice (using instructions above) as a base for all sorts of beautyberry recipes, such as: I’m happily drinking a cup of beautyberry tea as I write! She nibbled a few and exclaimed, “wow, those are really unique!” Indeed. You said they could be used to make a salve or lotion but you didn’t say how. Along with being a skeptic, I’m not one to go out of my way to try anything new but I happened to be working on a property with a big ol’ bush so I grabbed a couple leaves, smashed them around in my hands and rubbed them on my exposed skin. The study done with the DEET commercial repellent was found to repel more than 95% of the tick nymphs. Keep damp. Dip bottom 3″ in rooting hormone, then stick in small container filled with damp potting soil. © 2020 - Tyrant Farms. Each seed can be used to grow a new beautyberry plant. But this plant is more than just a pretty face! They’re also commonly found at local nurseries if you want to get an older plant. Roots will establish by spring and you can transplant the young plants into their final spots in the fall. American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is an attractive, common landscape shrub native to the southeastern US. :) their attractive showy berries which stay on the plant through winter, long after the leaves have dropped. American beautyberries are native to the southeastern United States, and their range also extends into the Caribbean and northern Mexico. 4. Stir for a couple of minutes until all ingredients thoroughly dissolved and mixed together. American beautyberry is easily grown in moist, ... A great mosquito & tick repellent I found that is already mixed & works extremely well plus last a really long time. This is very important as the beautyberry shrub can be used as a natural insect repellent, to protect you and your loved ones from flying biting insects such as mosquitoes and gnats. Taste to make sure it's sweet enough for your liking. The leaves are large, but the most obvious feature of the plant is the clusters of purplish drupes (berry-like fruits) that become evident in … If you were present for … We’ve never used the beautyberry plant as an insect repellent, so we didn’t want to provide instructions given our lack of knowledge/experience on the topic. Sheep sorrel tastes like lemons. We’ve never done it, but you could also probably get good results by drying whole beautyberries, then using them as a tea flavoring. You can make your own repellent by boiling the leaves or soaking them in alcohol. your own Pins on Pinterest The berries can be harvested through the winter until they turn brown. Disease and pest free plant, the USDA has proven that it is a mosquito AND tick repellent. Scientists Confirm Folk Remedy Repels Mosquitoes Date: July 3, 2006 Source: University Of Mississippi Summary: Swatting mosquitoes and dodging other … I have horses and would love to it out on them and myself of course. Store outdoors and make sure the soil remains damp, but not wet. 3. have high levels of carbohydrates, like other berries (sweet). Almost exactly like hibiscus roselle tea (from Hibiscus sabdariffa). In fact, there are at least 140 species of Callicarpa globally. Preparing for a second finer strain to remove any additional sediment as the beautyberry juice is poured into jars. Tyrant Farms is reader-supported. Put equal quantities of fresh beautyberries and water into a pot on your stove (example 5 cups beautyberries and 5 cups water). Stir until honey is dissolved. As mentioned throughout this article, yes, beautyberries are indeed edible. Jan 27, 2013 - This Pin was discovered by Trail Shade ~~<3. No, this isn’t just a folk remedy. We use Bt dunks to keep mosquitos out of our yard, but what to do to keep mosquitos and ticks off of you while you’re hiking or foraging? The result: a natural, highly effective single-ingredient mosquito and tick repellent. American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is an attractive, common landscape shrub native to the southeastern US. have very high fiber content (if eaten raw with seeds and skin). Beautyberry plants are a member of the Lamiaceae family, which includes many mints. Please be sure to subscribe to Tyrant Farms to see what's in-season out in nature, have fresh seasonal recipes delivered to your inbox and get helpful organic/permaculture gardening & duck keeping tips. Recent research has found the leaves of Beautyberry do indeed harbor an effective mosquito repellent. Chickweed tastes like corn silk. Beautyberry jelly recipes abound on the internet, so we won’t bother replicating that recipe here. When the American beautyberry compound callicarpenal was studied, it repelled 100% of the blacklegged ticks for three hours after it was applied, and 53% for four hours. Ever since my foraging class and finding out that the beautyberry has great properties for a bug repellent I have wanted to try my hand at making a recipe.. Beautyberries just starting to turn purple in late August. As a mid-stage succession plant, they don’t grow well in full shade, such as under the canopy of large trees. “Eat You Weeds” has a good article on beautyberry and it a includes a recipe for bug repellent. Add a bit of sweetener (like stevia powder or honey), and enjoy. Mix 3/4 cup beautyberry juice + honey (to taste) in sauce pan on double boiler. Aaron also writes for Edible Upcountry Magazine, WordPress (.com), Daily Harvest Express, and other food and tech-related organizations. 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