Mosquito Repellant Native Plant // More Powerful Than DEET (Edible Berries Too) American Beautyberry

Jams, Jellies... & Mosquito Repellant? From the same plant? Yes, we’re talking about NATIVE BEAUTYBERRY.

Beauty Berry (Callicarpa americana) is an edible Florida native plant found all over untouched natural​ areas in Florida. The berries are edible but don’t have much flavor due to the lack of sugars (Chickens do love them). Yesterday I was so excited, I thought I discovered one that was much sweeter and tasted amazing! Only to my own disappointment, I remembered eating a Miracle Fruit about 20 minutes earlier. 🤔
These sure do look like nature’s candy of the woods!

What’s most interesting about this plant is the leaves contain a terpenoid compound called callicarpenal and intermedeol. These compounds are stronger than DEET as natural bug spray. Pretty cool, right?
Beautyberry, or Callicarpa americana, is a gorgeous Florida Native that is entirely worthy of its name when the berries ripen in early fall (zones 7-11). Not only does it add beautiful color to the landscape, but it also somewhat useful. It has long been used to make a brightly colored jam or jelly, because of it's natural pectin content, but the chemical compounds (callicarpenal and intermedeol) contained in its leaves have lately been proving to be even more effective than DEET when processed adequately through a distillation process.

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[modernsurvivalist]

He neglected to say that the roots of this plant can be boiled and made into a tea for people with leg swelling or any sort of swelling will be gone if you make the tea and drink it. And the berries grow in white, red, purple, and blueish colors. All of the berries are basically flavorless some have a slight lavender flavor and scent. The long branches are also good for making cordage out of the bark if it's peeled off and braided into rope before it dries. Great plant for survival

[thedoors]

As many others in the comments have stated, the most common edible use for beautyberries is as a jelly or jam. However, I am a little on the busy side to make jelly, so I just eat the berries raw, foraged off the bush. I have found the key with them is to allow them to become as plump and ripe as possible, then pick and eat them immediately (they have no shelf life) for the best flavor, a flavor that I would describe as herbal, not sweet, and unique; I have never tasted another fruit like beautyberry. Fruits that are not at optimum ripeness tend to have less flavor and a bit of astringency.


As for beautyberry's mosquito repelling properties, as you stated, simply rubbing leaves on your skin does not work. In my experience, the leaves must be thoroughly crushed, almost into a paste and then applied. This can be done effectively by getting a few leaves, tearing them up, and then crushing them in your hands. That works for up to three hours, less if you are very hot and dripping with sweat.

[dlucascreations]

I wish you do short videos like this about EACH of your plants.

[coolbeans-plantbased]

Hi neighbor! Just a bit north of you in Hernando! We have tons of beauty berry bushes in our yard. Love making chia jam with them!

[gcxredkat]

YAY, as a member of The Florida Native Plant Society, l'm so glad to see you championing this plant! A lot of people don't realize that many animals and insects rely on certain plants... that they flower and fruit when they do etc. This plant can be a little leggy, but the berries are stunning! Use it in the landscape!!!

[FrankyMMAzz]

Subscribed from Live oak Florida 🌴👍⛈️🌻! I have lots of beauty berries in my yard

[johndavis]

The jelly it makes is fantastic! I can't wait to distill the leaves for bug repellent

[luxdevoid]

Rubbing the inside peel of sour orange on exposed skin also works well to repell mosquitoes. I have done it many times.

[jeannewhitaker]

Cool! My yard in Georgia was covered in those things! Great to know they’re useful!

[thehuntfortruth]

I friggin love your videos! Good visuals, good music good knowledge. Blows my mind that each video isn't at a bajillion Views. But more people will find your stuff. Thanks so much for producing such quality content and sharing such awesome knowledge!

[southernbelladonna]

We have these here. They really are beautiful! I remove the leaves and put them in a vase with water and they make a beautiful centerpiece. I eat them too but they just taste like grass. Not bad, just not good. But i hear cooked into recipes they are pretty good. I will definitely try them as repellant due to the tons of MOSQUITOS that live here with us. Great video. Just a remember if you use as a centerpiece, they look the best with leaves removed and if you add water, they will last several weeks.

[sayurix]

Wow the color of those berries are amazing. Thank you for the great info.

[vintagetrishgarden]

‘Miracle fruit and beauty berry fruit salad’ sounds like a great combination then! It is a beautiful plant with that unique berry colour 👌🏻

[sonyagregory]

Beauty is the perfect word for this wonderful plant. Thanks for sharing!

[MrsMika]

I love where you show us subtropical edible plants and fruits.
THANK YOU!

[robinmuhlbauer]

We have a 75 lb African Sulcata Tortoise and he breathes out so much carbon dioxide the mosquitos cover his head and front legs. Of course he’s a reptile so we can’t spray bug repellant on him but I do crush Beauty Berry leaves and rub them all around the edge of his shell and the mosquitos are gone immediately and stay away for a long time. So I guess what I’m saying is the leaves themselves do work in some cases.😊

[momonamission]

So glad to see you pop up on here! Thanks for the information neighbor!

[imacrapschick]

In Mississippi, the Choctaw and Cherokee tribe used them to dye fabric. Beautiful color. But, I never knew you could eat them? I was told they'll make you sick. Good to know. You have to boil the leaves down to make the mosquito repellant. Like a salve.

[lspthrattan]

Thank you! I'd never heard of this plant before. If you want a natural mosquito repellant and you don't like the smell of citronella, try lavender. And yes, you CAN just rub the freshly picked flowers and leaves on your skin, and it works (well, lavender does; I don't know about this plant you're introducing). I've spent most of my life living in very mosquito-laden areas, and this always works for me. You may find essential more convenient than flowers, of course, which is quite economical because you only need a tiny tiny amount of essential oil to keep mosquitoes three feet away from you.

[nesq]

Wekiva springs state park has tons of these growing. Now when I go back I will take a few seeds to plant.