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Not to be confused with Vitis.

Vitex is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae containing about 210 species. Common names include chaste tree or chastetree, traditionally referring to V. agnus-castus, but often applied to other species, as well, and pūriri for the New Zealand species V. lucens.[not verified in body] Species of Vitex are native throughout the tropics and subtropics, with a few species in warm-temperate Eurasia and one in New Zealand.[2]

Description

Vitex is a genus of shrubs and trees, from 1–40 m tall.[3] Some species have whitish bark that is characteristically furrowed. The leaves are opposite, usually palmately compound, with three to seven leaflets; a few have simple leaves. Most are evergreen, but a few, including V. agnus-castus and V. negundo, are deciduous; some have scented foliage.[3] The flowers can be white, yellow, or violet, depending on the species; they are fragrant, and produced in terminal branched spikes or panicles.[3] The fruit is a fleshy red, purple, or black drupe.[3][4]

Taxonomy

The genus Vitex was named by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753.[5] Vitex was the name used by Pliny the Elder for V. agnus-castus. It is derived from the Latin word vieo, meaning to weave or to tie up, a reference to the use of V. agnus-castus in basketry.[6]

As a result of phylogenetic studies of DNA sequences, Vitex is one of several genera that were transferred from the Verbenaceae to the Lamiaceae in the 1990s. It is the largest genus in the subfamily Viticoideae of Lamiaceae.[7] Taxon sampling in molecular phylogenetic studies has never been sufficient to test the monophyly of the Viticoideae, but it is generally thought to be an unnatural group.[8] The subfamily is probably diphyletic, with Premna, Gmelina, and Cornutia constituting one clade, and with Vitex, Petitia, Pseudocarpidium, and Teijsmanniodendron constituting the other.[9]

The type species is Vitex agnus-castus.[10] In 2009, a molecular phylogenetic study showed that three small genera, Paravitex, Viticipremna, and Tsoongia, are embedded in Vitex. These three genera were duly sunk into synonymy with Vitex.[9]

Pseudocarpidium, Petitia, and Teijsmanniodendron possibly are nested within Vitex. Sampling in the 2009 study was not sufficient to determine the phylogenetic position of these genera. The relationships of Teijsmanniodendron to these genera was not discussed in a revision of Teijsmanniodendron in 2009.[11]

Species

As of April 2026, Plants of the World Online accepts the following 211 species:[1]

Uses

A number species are grown in cultivation. V. agnus-castus and V. negundo are the species most often planted in warm temperate European gardens;[3] several others are frequently grown in the tropics.[12] Most of the cultivated species serve as ornamental plants. Some provide valuable timber. The flexible twigs of some species are used in basket weaving.[2] Some of the aromatic species are used medicinally[12][13] or to repel mosquitos.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c “Vitex L.” Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2026. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  2. ^ a b David J. Mabberley. 2008. Mabberley’s Plant-Book third edition (2008). Cambridge University Press: UK.
  3. ^ a b c d e Huxley, Anthony; Griffiths, Mark; Levy, Margot (1992). New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. Vol. 4. London New York: Macmillan Stockton press. pp. 676–677. ISBN 1-56159-001-0.
  4. ^ “Vitex Linn.”. Manual of the New Zealand Flora.
  5. ^ Carolus Linnaeus. 1753. Species Plantarum 2:706. Laurentii Salvii. (see External Links below).
  6. ^ Umberto Quattrocchi. 2000. CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names volume I, page 91. CRC Press: Boca Raton; New York; Washington, DC;, US. London, UK. ISBN 978-0-8493-2673-8 (set). (see External links below).
  7. ^ Harley, R.M.; Atkins, S.; Budantsev, A.L.; Cantino, P.D.; Conn, B.J.; Grayer, R.; Harley, M.M.; de Kok, R.; Krestovskaja, T.; Morales, R.; Paton, A.J.; Ryding, O.; Upson, T. (2004). “Labiatae”. In Kubitzki, Klaus (ed.). Flowering Plants, Dicotyledons: Lamiales (except Acanthaceae, including Avicenniaceae). The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. Vol. VII. Berlin: Springer. p. 195. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-18617-2. ISBN 978-3-642-62200-7.
  8. ^ Systematics of Lamiaceae Subfamily Viticoideae. At: Website of Kew Gardens. (see External links below).
  9. ^ a b Gemma L.C. Bramley, Félix Forest, and Rogier P.J. de Kok. 2009. “Troublesome tropical mints: re-examining generic limits of Vitex and relations (Lamiaceae) in South East Asia”. Taxon 58(2):500-510.
  10. ^ “Vitex“. International Plant Names Index. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  11. ^ Rogier P.J. de Kok, Go Rusea, and Abdul Latiff. 2009. “The Genus Teijsmanniodendron Koord. (Lamiaceae)”. Kew Bulletin 64(4):587-625.
  12. ^ a b c George W. Staples and Derral R. Herbst “A Tropical Garden Flora” Bishop Museum Press: Honolulu (2005)
  13. ^ Tadzabia K, Maina HM, Maitera ON, Osunlaja AA (2013). “Elemental and Phytochemical Screening of Vitex Doniana Leaves and Stem Bark in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria” (PDF). International Journal of Chemical Studies. 1 (3): 165–172.

Further reading

  • Ray Harley, “In search of Labiatae in Eastern Brazil”, Vitex: A Newsletter for Lamiaceae and Verbenaceae Research, ISSN 1470-0123, Issue 1, February 2000, page 5.