Vitex diversifolia
Baker
GBIF
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit, Leaves
The fruit has a thin edible pulp. The leaves are also edible.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant. It grows in the Sahel near groundwater. It grows in the Africa savannah. It can grow in arid places.
Africa, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Guinée, Ivory Coast, Niger, Nigeria, Sahel, Sudan, West Africa,
How to Identify
A shrub or small tree. It grows up to 6 m high. The bark is dark grey and scaly. The leaves are not divided. They have a white covering when young. The flowers are in the axils of leaves and in groups 10-15 cm long. They are green with purple-violet sepals. The fruit is oval. It is 2.5 cm long by 1.5 cm wide. It is green with white dots. It has 3 seeds. Now Vitex madiensis subsp. madiensis
Notes
Also put in the family Verbenaceae. Vitex diversifolia Baker is a synonym of Vitex madiensis subsp. madiensis Vitex diversifolia Kurz is an Asian species.
Names & Synonyms
References (3)
- Ambe, G., 2001, Les fruits sauvages comestibles des savanes guinéennes de Côte-d’Ivoire : état de la connaissance par une population locale, les Malinké. Biotechnol. Agron. Soc. Environ. 5(1), 43-48 (Vitex spp.)
- Belem, M., et al, 2017, Strategy of Conservation and Protection of Wild Edible Plants Diversity in Burkina Faso. ANADOLU 27 (2) 2017, 82- 90
- Maydell, H. von, 1990, Trees and shrubs of the Sahel: their characteristics and uses. Margraf. p 395
