Vitex agnus-castus

Vitex, Chaste-tree

Vitex agnus-castus

Verbenaceae (Verbenaceae)

▲ mature plant

▲ ▼ flowers

▲ leaves

Location on campus: at northwest corner of Craig Hall, across from southeast entrance of Karls Hall

Vitex agnus-castus: Vitex, Chaste-tree

• leaves deciduous, opposite, palmately compound with entire-margined leaflets; leaflets are 2-4" long and 1/4 as wide; gray-green in color, glabrous above, slightly pubescent underneath
• stems are slender, gray-green to gray-brown, angled with large, angled pith; older stems/trunks get blocky bark
• flowers are lilac-purple in terminal panicles in late summer on current season’s growth
• grows 15-25' tall and 2/3 as wide in southern areas as a small tree; more of a shrub in north and may die back to ground in cold winters
• prefers full sun, moist, well-drained soil
• fast growth rate
• relatives of this plant produce chemicals that repel insects and act as insect growth regulators
• a related species Vitex negundo: Chaste-tree
  • leaves similar to above, but with serrate margins on leaflets
  • more herbaceous-appearing stem growth than V. agnus-castus
  • flowers, height, growth habit and rate similar