Callicarpa mollis
StarCallicarpa mollis
Synonyms: Callicarpa mollis var. chejuensis, Callicarpa mollis f. albifructa, Callicarpa mollis f. ramosissima, Callicarpa mollis var. microphylla, Callicarpa zollingeriana, Callicarpa mollis var. ramosissima, Callicarpa chejuensis
Safety at a glance
No rule in our tables for this herb: pregnancy, breastfeeding, incompatible pairs (十八反 / 十九畏), herb–drug, dose ceiling. This is not a safety clearance.
Not graded — No toxicity grade is recorded. Most herbs in the catalogue carry none.
Traditionally used for
- Skin
Western Herbalism Properties
Gallery
Botanical Description
Callicarpa mollis is a deciduous shrub of the mint family (Lamiaceae, formerly Verbenaceae) native to East Asia, including China, Japan and Korea, where it grows in thickets, forest margins, hillsides and along streams. It typically reaches 1-2 m in height, with softly hairy young branches and opposite, ovate to elliptic leaves bearing toothed margins and a covering of fine hairs that give the foliage a soft texture. Small pink to pale purple flowers are borne in dense, branched axillary cymes in summer, each with a short tubular corolla and protruding stamens. These are followed in autumn by clusters of small, rounded, violet to purple berry-like drupes that persist after the leaves fall, a feature shared across the beautyberry genus. It is one of several Callicarpa species valued both ornamentally and in regional folk medicine.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Zi zhu ye (Callicarpa formosana leaf) and the other pharmacopoeial Callicarpa drugs
Callicarpa mollis Siebold and Zuccarini is a Japanese and Korean shrub, yabu-murasaki, recorded from Honshu south to Shikoku and Kyushu, from Jeju and the Korean peninsula, and from Taiwan. The Chinese hemostatic drugs of this genus are different species: zi zhu ye is the leaf of Callicarpa formosana, and Chinese standards also recognise Callicarpa kwangtungensis and Callicarpa nudiflora. No published analysis of Callicarpa mollis exists, so nothing is known about whether it shares the constituents on which those drugs depend, and the hemostatic evidence for the pharmacopoeial species cannot be read across to it.
Clinical note: Do not dispense this species where a formula calls for zi zhu ye or any other pharmacopoeial Callicarpa. If a supplier offers Callicarpa mollis against such an order, treat it as the wrong article, not as a substitute.
Callicarpa japonica (murasaki-shikibu) through natural hybridisation
A nuclear and chloroplast DNA study of populations on the Atsumi Peninsula and five further areas of Japan found widespread introgression of the Callicarpa japonica genome into Callicarpa mollis. Every individual examined with the morphology of Callicarpa mollis carried genetic traces of hybridisation with Callicarpa japonica, and individuals with an F1 genotype were morphologically indistinguishable from pure Callicarpa mollis. The named hybrid Callicarpa x shirasawana turned out on analysis to be mostly backcross progeny rather than F1. In practice this means a wild-collected batch identified by leaf and hair characters cannot be assumed to be genetically pure.
Clinical note: Morphological authentication is not sufficient for this species. If the identity of a batch matters clinically, require DNA-based identification, and record the possibility of Callicarpa japonica ancestry in any adverse-event report.
Dosage Calculator
⚖ Dosage Calculator
A weight-based mathematical estimate for Callicarpa mollis. Not a prescription.
References
- Tsukaya H, Fukuda T, Yokoyama J. Hybridization and introgression between Callicarpa japonica and C. mollis (Verbenaceae) in central Japan, as inferred from nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences . Molecular Ecology (2003) [DOI]
- Kim H, Song MJ. Numerical analysis of Callicarpa mollis complex using morphological characters . Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy (1997) [DOI]
- Cai H, Liu X, Wang W, Ma Z, Li B, Bramley GLC, Zhang D. Phylogenetic relationships and biogeography of Asia Callicarpa (Lamiaceae), with consideration of a long-distance dispersal across the Pacific Ocean —insights into divergence modes of pantropical flora . Frontiers in Plant Science (2023) [DOI]
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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