I believe the picture of the beautyberry is actually Callicarpa dichotoma, not Callicarpa americana. I have often tried using Callicarpa americana leaves to repel mosquitoes on my walks into the woods. It does seem to be somewhat effective: I have noticed that mosquitoes seem to only hover around, lighting on much more infrequently, spots of my skin that were rubbed heavily with the leaves until the scent was detectable on my skin; Unfortunately, however, it seems mosquitoes will still freely light on any part of skin that has not been heavily rubbed with the leaves. I suppose it would be impractical to attempt to cover every inch of skin with the scent.

Interestingly, the berries of Callicapa americana are edible and have a very peculiar taste, though not at all a disagreeable one. I enjoy eating them raw. Reportedly, they make fine jelly. I have a book that has a recipe for this but I have never tried it myself (I plan to just as soon as the five American beautyberry plants growing in our yard begin to produce a substantial amount of berries). This species is pervasive were I live.

Monarda punctata is one of my favorite native herbaceous perennials that grow around where I live. The one I am growing has a flavor close to Greek oregano but with a noticeable vanilla component. It is also a bit spicy, leaving my mouth with a delightful burning sensation when I eat it raw. It is the tastiest of all the Monarda species I have tried. It is also one of the more visually stunning plants one can find growing wild. I have never tried it as an insect repellent, however.

my favorite is rosemary. beautiful spicy smell, extremely versatile in cooking, and makes excellent hedge as well.