A simple, efficient and environmentally benign approach has been investigated for synthesis of copper nanoparticles using Actinodaphnehookeri (Pisa) plant leaf extract as a reducing agent. The synthesized copper NPs showed antimicrobial activity against pathogenic Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative microbial infections, also showed the catalytic activity (15 mol%) for synthesis of xanthenes with high TONs and TOFs. It's interesting that this catalyst quantitatively recovered from the reaction medium and recycled up to five cycles, and there was no noticeable loss of catalytic performance.