Gen info
- Callicarpa comprises about 150 species, which are mainly distributed in East and South-East Asia. followed by tropical and temperate America, tropical Australia, and some Pacific Islands, The highest concentration of species is in the Philippines and in Cuba. (4)
- Callicarpa erioclona is a species of beauty berry native to Vietnam, Borneo, Sulawesi, Java, New Guinea, the Bismark Archipelago, and the Philippines.
- In a taxonomic revision of the genus Callicarpa (Lamiaceae) in the Philippines, 27 taxa are recognized, and 13 names reduced to synonymy. (5)
- In the Philippines, Callicarpa erioclona is most likely to be confused with C. plumosa, which is rare in comparison and last entire leaf margins and a large corolla. Outside the Philippines, it is confused with C. candicans, but distinguished by its ovary and fruit, which have scattered brown hairs. In C. candicans the ovary and fruit are glabrous, In C. erioclona, the stem and lower leaf indumentum of plumose hairs. (8)

Botany
Tubang-dalag is a lax shrub growing to 2 meters in height. Branches are relatively few and slender, and the twigs densely covered with dirty-brown, shaggy hairs. Leaves are oblong-ovate or oblong-elliptic, 13 to 24 centimeters in length, and 5 to 10 centimeters in width; the margin entire toward the pointed base and toothed towards the pointed apex. Cymes upon the peduncles are as long as the petioles, like them rather small and hairy. Flowers are minute, pale- or whitish-blue, light-pink tow white, borne on axillary cymes, and 2 to 5 centimeters long. Fruit is a purple berry, small, spherical, 3 to 4 millimeters in diameter, subtended by a saucer-shaped calyx, and growing in tight clusters.

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- Common in primary and secondary forests at low altitudes in Luzon, Mindoro, Leyte, Negros, and Mindanao.
- Also native to Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Jawa, New Guinea, Sulawesi, Vietnam. (7)

Properties
- Studies have suggested antimicrobial, larvicidal, molluscicidal properties.

Uses
Edibility
- Berries are edible; but not commercially sold.
Folkloric
- Leaf decoction used as wash to treat itches,
- Leaves mixed with coconut oil, applied to wounds.
Others
- Fish Poison: Leaves are used with other plants as fish poison.

Studies
• Taxonomic Revision: Study presents the taxonomic revision of the genus Callicarpa L. in the Philippines. Twenty-seven taxa are recognized, and thirteen names newly reduced to synonymy. (2)
• Antimicrobial: In a study of 191 plant extracts from more than 30 families, found in Sabah, Malaysia, tested by disk diffusion technique against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and Candida albicans, extracts of four plants, including Callicarpa erioclona exhibited antimicrobial properties. (3)
• Larvicidal / Essential Oil: Study evaluated essential oils of four members of Lamiaceae, including Callicarpa erioclona. The essential oils were formulated into microemulsions and screened for mosquito larvicidal activity and for molluscicidal activity. Atractylone and (E)-caryophyllene were the dominant volatiles of the essential oil. The EO and microemulsions exhibited larvicidal activity against three tested mosquito species i.e. Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus with LC50 <10 µg/mL. The larvicidal activity of the microemulsions were significantly higher compared with free essential oils. The EO and microemulsion showed excellent molluscicidal activity with LC50 <10µg/mL. (8)
• AChE Inhibitory Activity / Essential Oil: In a study of essential oils of some species in the genera Callicarpa for cholinesterase enzyme inhibitory activity, Callicarpa was one of four species that showed good activity with IC50s between 28.71 and 54.69 mg/mL. (9)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

DOI: It is not uncommon for links on studies/sources to change. Copying and pasting the information on the search window or using the DOI (if available) will often redirect to the new link page. (Citing and Using a (DOI) Digital Object Identifier)