PlantFiles: Beefsteak Plant
Perilla frutescens

Simply pull out the whole plant before it seeds, and its gone... it is an annual.

Recently identified the purple-tinted "mystery mint" that's grown here for years as Perilla. Love this plant (as do hummingbirds, butterflies, small bees & tiny wasps when it blooms) & the neutral rating only reflects its prolific self-sowing. Be aware that bloom stallks grow from every stem node & hundreds of tiny blooms on each plant produce thousands of seeds, but unwanteds are easilly pulled at any stage. Although this is a windy country bluff, notice few sprout away from the beds where they are welcome in moderation. Pest insects, deer & critters leave them alone & they protect roses & other susceptible ornamentals in this organic no-spray garden. Ones in shade grow 3' but those in fertile watered soil grow more than 5' high & 2' wide if uncrowded. Happy & majestic plants!

Perilla is extremely invasive in central Maryland. I have been mowing it out of the back pastures for several years before it seeds and it still comes back. No hope of getting it out of the woods. Very toxic to horses if harvested into hay crop. Completely shades out grasses.

For those of you who don't know what to do with Beefsteak/perilla leaves, they are a suitable replacement for basil in most recipes, including pesto and pizza.

This plant grows happily in our region in full shade. It does re-seed itself vigorously, but the babies are very easy to pull up and pass to friends. It adds beautiful color to shady places, and the bugs in our region do not like it either.

These make a nice hedge and if you cut the flowers off or cut them down before the seeds ripen it will help to prevent them from comming up everywere. Then the plants are very useful in the compost pile or to use a green manure to turn in to the garden if you practice green manure rotation. The fiberous roots really help airate the soil.

This weed replaces our native plants in woodlands here; listed as invasive in Pennsylvania. The following is quoted from the US National Forest service:

Ecological Impacts: Often planted as showy ornamentals, beefsteak
plants may readily escape cultivation, spreading to disturbed areas
where they disrupt native ecosystems. The species has toxic
characteristics and very few predators. It is ordinarily avoided by cattle and has been implicated in cattle
poisoning. Plants are most toxic if cut and dried for hay late in the summer, during seed production. One
reason for beefsteak plants’ survival in pastures is that cattle avoid it. Sold as a salad plant for its dark purple
foliage, this member of the mint family is extremely invasive by wind-borne seeds.

I LOVE this plant! It is not native to the US but was brought here by Asian Immigrants in the late 1800's. I think it smells wonderful. It's edible and medicinal. It has been used for centuries in Oriental medicine as an antiasthmatic, antibacterial, antidote, antimicrobial, antipyretic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antitussive, aromatic, carminative, diaphoretic, emollient, expectorant, pectoral, restorative, stomachic and tonic. The plant constituents confirm these uses in alternative medicine and ongoing studies have revealed that this plant is useful in curing many cancers as well as various other diseases and disorders.

I have never seen it be invasive to the point of taking anything over, seems to co-exist with other native flora here. I am so glad I have it growing here. :-)

This plant is extremely invasive. Earlier this summer I completely cleared a bed of it and in a matter of 3 weeks it looked as if nothing had been done. This plant is right up there with mint in places where it isn't native. True the foliage is nice but I would never recommend this plant to anyone.

This plant, in both green & red variations, is naturalized here in Culpeper, VA, & I have several plants coming up in partial to full shade uncultivated areas of my property, some of which I'm planning on potting up.

While I haven't cooked with it yet, I do find it pleasant to nibble on when I'm working outdoors, & do plan to begin using it in both Korean & Japanese dishes. The taste, to me, is a mild mint/licorice.

It is pretty, easy to grow, and reseeds freely. However it is a non-native invasive species.

This is a harty plant which requires little care and makes a beautiful container plant. It grows well in sunny conditions without requiring an excessive amount of water. It is not bothered by any sort of insects that I've noticed. Although mine has not bloomed, it's still mid summer, so it's a bit early yet.

The seed requires light to germinate. Surface sow and keep moist until it germinates.
I cut the stems with seed pods that have dried and carefully shake them into a bowl to collect the many seeds.
You can also snip the seed froming pods before they set seed and dispose of them to prevent over seeding the next season.
Does not seem to be bothered by Japanese Beetles.

Easily grown from seed, Perilla frutescens 'Atropurpurea' was like a coleus plant but a coleus which thrived in full sun, heat and humidity! The deep purple-bronze leaves kept their lustre all summer long. Once established, the Perilla needed only occasional pinching to keep it full and bushy. Water needs were average, and remarkably, insects ignored the plant.

This plant appears to be native to our area. It will come up by the hundreds but is very easily pulled out, so I don't consider it a weed. It is very pretty with pink flowers growing in it (such as Echinacea purpurea), makes a good cut flower vase filler, roots in water, likes sun or shade, can be pinched like coleus for fullness. A friend of mine said it is one of those plants that "could grow between two cigarette butts in the crack of a NYC sidewalk". The plants range from very tiny to three feet tall and wide, depending on light, moisture, and fertility of the soil.

I love the accent the dark, ruffly foliage provides in the garden. It gets 3' tall for me in some places. Tolerates drought, clay soil, and shade. I've never noticed bug damage to the foliage. Once it starts bolting in the fall, though, it loses a lot of its attractiveness. And once the plants begin to set seed, I definitely pull them out since they self seed PROLIFICALLY! But this way, the self-seeding they do is manageable.

Although this has been used as a food plant, it is currently regarded as unsafe to eat in quantity. It is a beautiful accent in the flower bed, though, and its leaves make a great addition to bouquets.

Perilla is a member of the mint family. It has square stems,
deep reddish-purple leaves with a bronze metallic sheen.

The plant grows 18-36" tall and has pale lavender, pink,
or white flowers which grow in 3-6" long spikes. The flowers
are rather insignificant when compared to the beauty of
the foliage. It is fragrant when bruised or crushed.

P. frutescens 'Crispa' has bronze or purple leaves with highly
wrinkled margins.

P. frutescens 'Atropurpurea' has dark purple leaves.