Vitex trifolia

Common blue vitex

LamiaceaeLeavesPotential hazards — see below

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

The leaves are eaten.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grows near the coast. In XTBG Yunnan.

Afghanistan, Africa, Asia, Australia, China, Cook Islands, East Africa, East Timor, Fiji, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, New Caledonia, Pacific, Palau, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Rotuma, Samoa, SE Asia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis & Futuna, Yap,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Angola, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Brunei, Bhutan, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cook Islands, Cameroon, China, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Micronesia, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Comoros, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, New Caledonia, Niger, Nigeria, Nepal, Nauru, New Zealand, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Palau, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Sudan, Singapore, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Syria, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Samoa, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A large shrub or small tree. It can be 5 m tall. The stems are covered with soft hairs. The leaves are opposite along the stems. They have 3 leaflets. These can be 1-12 cm long. The leaves are green on the upper surface and greyish green underneath. The flowers are in clusters 18 cm long. The flowers are purple. The fruit are fleshy and 6 mm long. They contain 4 small black seeds.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from seeds and cuttings.

Medicinal Uses

The leaves are used to treat female ailments in the Cook Islands, and used to relieve fever in Samoa. Additionally in Samoa, the dried leaves are burned to deter mosquitos.

Other Uses

The leaves contain 0.11 - 0.28% of an essential oil and a resin. The chief constituents of the oil are l-d pinene and camphene, which between them constitute 55% of the oil, there is also 10% terpinyl acetate and 20% of a diterpene alcohol. The flowers and seeds of the plant are used in the making of leis. The leaves are burned as an insect/mosquito repellent. Oils from the leaves show considerable mosquito repellent activity. The active principle has been identified as rotundinal, a cycloterpene aldehyde. The plant shows considerable potential as a botanical pesticide that may be applied both indoors and outdoors. The wood is used in light construction and for tools and axe handles. The wood is used for fuel. The plant is often used as a hedge, especially in Asia, although it may trigger various allergic reactions (sneezing, respiratory problems, dizziness, headache, nausea) to people trimming or pruning such hedges. The plant has been used to control erosion on sand dunes, which it does well within its native range. However, its ability to escape from cultivation, plus its negative effect upon some wildlife, makes it unsuitable for this purpose in other areas. The plant makes an excellent ground cover.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Vitex trifolia, the simpleleaf chastetree, is a large coastal shrub or small tree.

Notes

They are also used in medicine. Also put in the family Verbenaceae.

Names & Synonyms

Galumi, Gattilier, Gendavasi, Gillieu, Igaowar, Kisechedui, Lagondi, Lagundi, Legundi, Namulega, Sangari, Simple leaf chaste tree, Tawe ate, Te kaitu, Three leaflet vitex, Utkonamnam

Vutex negundo L.Vitex negundo var. bicolorVitex trifolia var. bicolor (Willd.) Moldenkeand many others

References (12)

Anon., 2003, Native Plants for the Fitzroy basin. Society for Growing Australian Plants Inc. (Rockhampton Branch) p 76
Bourret, D., 1981, Bonnes-Plantes de Nouvelle-Caledonie et des Loyaute. ORSTOM. p 83
Cabalion, P. and Morat, P., 1983, Introduction le vegetation, la flore et aux noms vernaculaires de l'ile de Pentcoste (Vanuatu), In: Journal d'agriculture traditionnelle et de botanique appliquee JATBA Vol. 30, 3-4 (As Vitex trifolia var. bicolor)
Cowie, I, 2006, A Survey of Flora and vegetation of the proposed Jaco-Tutuala-Lore National Park. Timor-Lests (East Timor) www.territorystories.nt/gov.au p 55
http://www.ntbg.org/plants/plant details.php
Liefting, A., et al, Samoan plant names. http://en.wikipedia.org
Melzer, R. & Plumb, J., 2011, Plants of Capricornia. Belgamba, Rockhampton. p 155
Samy, J., Sugumaran, M., Lee, K. L. W., 2009, Herbs of Malaysia, Marshall Cavendish. p 222
Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 732
Thaman, R. R., 1987, Plants of Kiribati: A listing and analysis of vernacular names. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 296
Thaman, R. R, 2016, The flora of Tuvalu. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 611. Smithsonian Institute p 120
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew