Common name:- Purple berry, American beauty berry.
Vernacular name:- Ekki main(Nyishi)
Family:- Lamiaceae
description
Callicarpa americana, the American beauty berry, is an open-habitat, native shrub of the Southern United States which is often grown as an ornamental in gardens and yards. American beautyberries produce large clusters of purple berries, which birds and deer eat, thus distributing the seeds.
Uses
The raw berries, while palatably sweet, are suitable for human consumption only in small amounts, because they are astringent. Some people have reported mild stomach cramps after consumption. The berries are also used in jellies and wine. The roots are used to make herbal tea. As a folk remedy it has been claimed that "fresh, crushed leaves of American beautyberry, Callicarpa americana ... helped keep biting insects away from animals such as horses and mules". A chemical compound isolated from the plant, callicarpenal, was effective as a mosquito repellent in a laboratory experiment using a simulated skin model.
The berries ripen in September through October and are a favorite among wild bird species including cardinals, mockingbirds, finches, woodpeckers and more. Beautyberry is commonly planted in landscape designs to attract wildlife because of the food source the berries provide and the cover animals get from the shrub itself.
It is widely found in Kurung Kumey district of Arunachal Pradesh at tropical or subtropical type of forest. But the denizens of the said district are yet to use this species as medicines or some other remedies due to lack of knowledge & available sources of other plant species which has medicinal values too.
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