Beauty Berries

I saw this beautiful sight at the Enchanted Forest in Brevard County just south of Titusville, Florida. I have spent many day over the years hiking... more

by AnnaJo Vahle

Title

Beauty Berries

Artist

AnnaJo Vahle

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

I saw this beautiful sight at the Enchanted Forest in Brevard County just south of Titusville, Florida. I have spent many day over the years hiking the paths, photographing and plein air painting there. They have even hosted my art work in shows many times. It is a magical place to get away from the troubles of the world.

These berries are all over the forest there.

American Beauty Berry. The berries were used to make dye and the leaves were crushed and put on skin to ward off mosquitos by native peoples. Pioneer families in the 1800s also used the leaves for toilet paper! Remember to leave the plants in tact, all plants and animals in the sanctuary are protected.

I found this information from the National Gardening Association:

American Beauty berry, is a US native deciduous shrub that grows wild from Maryland to Florida and west through Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas. In the wild, it can occur in a wide variety of sites, from dry to moist, from open to shady. It's often found throughout southern forests where pine, oak, and hickory are predominant canopy trees, and this is where I find it looks the happiest. In the wild, beauty berries can be found growing in masses.

The plants and berries are also attractive to a variety of wildlife. Lots of birds dine on the fresh berries and seeds, including over forty songbirds, and even the raisins are consumed. Beauty berries are an important food source for many birds, such as bobwhite quail, robins, cardinals, catbirds, finches, mockingbirds, thrashers and towhees. Other animals that eat the fruit include armadillos, raccoons, opossums, squirrels, gray foxes, and some rodents. The white tail deer will browse the leaves. When we first moved here, we noticed that the deer were bedding down in the beauty berry bushes, which brings up another subject: the plant's ability to repel insects.
The beauty berry plant has been a traditional folk remedy for repelling mosquitoes, horseflies, deer flies, ticks, and other biting insects for over a century. Folks in the Mississippi hill country would cut the leafy branches, crush the leaves, and then place the branches between the harness and the horse to keep deer flies, horseflies, and mosquitoes away. I have tried using crushed beauty berry leaves and berries to repel mosquitoes. I recall one time when I was out exploring about the time the mosquitoes became active. I had read about the beauty berry, but couldn't remember whether it was the leaves or berries that would repel them, so I crushed some of both and rubbed them on my face, arms, and legs. Although I was already itching, the mosquitoes seemed to have vanished and were no longer flying around me as I made my way home. More recently, scientific studies have been done to confirm that the leaves of Callicarpa American contain compounds that definitely repel mosquitoes and other biting insects. I should use it more often. Another exciting finding in more recent studies is that the leaves of contain terpenoids that repel fire ants.

10/29/21..2d place win in the Garden Berries contest.

1/14/22..Tied 1st place in SEEDS AND SPROUTS

Uploaded

January 22nd, 2021