VITEX AGNUS-CASTUS

Family:- LABIATAE

Common Names:- Chaste tree, Monk’s pepper.

Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Vitex (L) An ancient Latin name used by the Roman naturalist and

philosopher Pliny for the chaste tree.

Agnus-castus (Gr) Lamb of heaven, chaste lamb.

General description:- Robust deciduous shrub

Stems:-

1) 1-3 m, twigs, slender, grey- or white-puberulent.

Leaves:-

1) Opposite, petiolate, digitate, with 5(-7) narrowly lanceolate, entire or with

shallowly dentate leaflets, dull dark green above, white-tomentose beneath.

Flowers:-

1) In whorled cymes forming a terminal, spike-like inflorescence.

2) Calyx, c. 3 mm, campanulate, 5-dentate.

3) Corolla, 8-10 mm, with cylindrical tube and 2-lipped limb, pink, lilac-blue or

occasionally whitish.

4) Stamens and style, exserted.

Fruit:-

1) Drupe, spherical, reddish-black, slightly longer than the calyx.

Habitat:- Coastal thickets, alluvial flats, along streams and ditches, roadsides,

ruderal habitats. 0-600(-1000) m.

Distribution:- Widespread throughout the Mediterranean region, through Anatolia to

Caucasia and Parnir-Alay. Widespread and common on Crete.

Flowering time:- (Apr-)June to Sept.

Photos by:- Steve Lenton