Vitex trifolia

Sengun, S., Ingrouille, M., Paton, A. & de Kok, R. P. J., 2024, Taxonomic revision of the Vitex trifolia complex (Lamiaceae), Blumea 69 (2), pp. 93-121 : 116-118

9. Vitex trifolia L. — Fig. 16 , 17 ; Map 9

Vitex trifolia L. (1753) 638 (‘ trifoliis ’), 938; Royle (1836) 299 ( ‘ triphylla ’); H.J. Lam (1919) 180; Munir (1987) 65; De Kok (2007) 596; De Kok & Sengun (2019) 416. — Vitex trifolia L. var. trifoliolata Schauer (1847) 683. — Vitex integerrima Mill. (1768) , nom. superfl. — Vitex indica Mill. (1768) in Er- ratum section, nom. superfl. — Vitex variifolia Salisb. (1796) 107, nom. superfl. — Vitex agnus-castus L. var. trifolia (L.) Kurz (1877) 270; De Kok (2008) 32. — Lectotype (designated by Moldenke & Moldenke 1983:378): Herb. Linn. 811/7 (lecto LINN), India.

Vitex paniculata Lam. (1786) 612. — Type: Rumpf (1743) 50, t. 19.

Vitex trifolia L. var. acutifolia Benth. (1870) 67. — Lectotype (designated here): Brown s.n. ( Bennett 2321) (lecto K; isolecto BM), ( Australia,) Queensland, along the coast from Cape York to Moreton Bay.

Vitex agnus -castus L. var. subtrisecta Kuntze (1891) 510. — Vitex trifolia L. var. subtrisecta (Kuntze) Moldenke (1961) 88; Munir (1987) 71; De Kok (2007) 597. — Type: Kuntze 5817 (holo NY n.v.), ( Indonesia,) Java, Willisgebirge.

[ Vitex langundi W.G. Maxwell (1906) 50, nom. nud.]

Vitex iriomotensis Ohwi (1938) 29. — Type: Koidzumi s.n. (holo KYO n.v.), Japan, Riukiu , Iriomate island.

Vitex trifolia L. var. variegata Moldenke (1941) 31. — Type: Busell s.n. (holo BH [BH000 046 020)]), ( USA,) Florida,Dade County ,near Miami.Syn.nov.

Vitex rotundifolia L.f. var. heterophylla Makino ex H. Hara (1948) 191; De Kok (2007) 597. — Vitex trifolia L. var. heterophylla (Makino ex H.Hara) Moldenke (1949) 178. — Vitex rotundifolia L.f. f. heterophylla (Makino ex H.Hara) Kitam. in Kitam. & Murata (1972) 34. — Type: Makino (1948) pl. 558.

Vitex trifolia L. var. subtrisecta L.f. f. albiflora Moldenke (1961) 90; De Kok (2007) 597. — Type: St. John 16705 (holo UC n.v.; iso K), Austral Islands, Rurutu, Peva.

Vitex taihangensis L.B.Guo & A.Q.Zhou (1989) 61. — Vitex trifolia L. var. taihangensis (L.B.Guo & A.Q.Zhou) S.L. Chen (1991) 58. — Type: Guo Lan-bin 688 (holo NMFC n.v.), China, Shanxi, Tai Hang Shan. Syn. nov.

Shrub (prostrate on seashore) or small tree, 1–6.5 m high (up to 60 cm when prostrate, then not rooting at nodes). Bark smooth to finely fissured, light brown or dark grey. Leaves (1- or) 3-foliolate; petioles 0.4–5.5 cm long. Leaflets: terminal blade obovate to oblanceolate in trifoliate leaves, elliptic to lanceolate in unifoliate leaves, apex acute, rarely acuminate, base attenuate in trifoliate leaves, rounded or cuneate in unifoliate leaves, margin entire, upper surface light to dark dull green, lower surface pale green to silvery/whitish or sometimes purplish, aromatic when bruised; secondary veins 9–14 per side, slightly prominent, visible on both surfaces; terminal leaflets 2.2–9.1 by 1.1–3.1 cm; terminal petiolules 0–0.9(–1.4) cm long, lateral leaflets 1.4–7.6 by 0.5–2.6 cm, sessile. Inflorescences terminal, consisting of lateral cymes in lax clusters with persistent flowers; axis 5.4–18.1 cm long, smooth, sometimes mauve tinged or purple; bracteoles ovate to linear, up to 2 mm long, patent, usually persistent, drying the same colour as the rest of the inflorescence. Calyx: glands many; tube 1–2.8 mm long; lobes 2–7 by 3–9 mm, lobe apex acute to acuminate; flowering calyx 2–3 mm diam; fruiting calyx 5–6 mm diam, patent to erect, covering up to most of the mature fruit. Corolla pale purplish to blue, sometimes with sweet smell; glands few; anterior lip spathulate, 2–5.5 by 2.5–5 mm, apex rounded to acute, reflexed, anterior corolla lip with semi-circular area of hairs at the corolla mouth; lateral lobes 2–3 by 2–2.5 mm, apex rounded, erect; posterior lip lobes 1.2–2.2 by 1–2 mm, apex acute, erect; tube 3.1–7 mm long. Stamens: filaments 3–5.8 mm long, slightly didynamous to equal, inserted at half to lower 1/3 of the corolla tube; anthers c. 1 mm long. Ovary 1–1.5 mm diam, glabrous, apex covered with glands; style 3.6–7 mm long, purple; stigma lobes 0.2–0.7 mm long, acuminate with a whitish appendix at each lobe. Fruit broadly obovoid to globose, when dried 2.2–6 by 2.2–6.2 mm, glabrous, purple, turning brown or black as it matures.

Distribution — The species is widespread from India and Sri Lanka to Southern Japan, southeast to the north coast of Australia and into the Pacific to Tahiti. Because of its uses as an ornamental and a medicinal plant, it is also widely cultivated outside its natural distribution area.

Habitat & Ecology — Beaches, inland edge of mangrove swamps, grasslands, littoral forests and in secondary vegetations. Soil: sand or more rarely in clay, often over limestone, coral, volcanic soils or shale, at 0–150(–1500) m altitude. In humid areas the species is usually common at low altitudes, becoming rare higher up. In dryer areas the species can also be common at high elevation. Often a solitary tree but sometimes occurring in thickets. Flowering and fruiting: all year round.

Uses — Various medicinal and horticultural uses.

Vernacular names — Epaskè (local language, South Sumatra), Kajo kemérū (local language, Flores), Kámaling bata (local language, Lesser Sunda Islands), Lamentang, memeongan (Sundanese), O soi (local language, Moluccas, Halmahera Island), Salagundih (Karo language, Sumatra),Tasi (Dawan language,Timor, Indonesia);Kyaung-ban (Burmese);Namulega (local language, Samoa); Nirnochi (Tamil); Mitsuba-hamago, Tachihamago, Yaeyama-hamago (Japanese); Panisamalu (Bengali); Surasa (Sanskrit).

Conservation status — Least concern (LC) as it is common throughout its range and there are no known threats ( Sengun 2017).

Notes — 1. Vitex trifolia can have a prostrate form on beaches. Then, it can occur together with and look like V. rotundifolia , and therefore, the two species can be confused. However, they can be distinguished from each other as V. rotundifolia has only one leaflet and roots at the nodes. Vitex trifolia can also be confused with V. bicolor or, possibly, V. benthamiana ; see notes under those species.

2. Vitex trifolia L. var. taihangensis (L.B.Guo & A.Q.Zhou) S.L.Chen describes a specimen with ‘presence of simple in- stead of trifoliate leaves’. However, in situ there are no V. trifolia plants with only unifoliate leaves. Therefore, this is an ordinary V. trifolia specimen, but likely to be cut from a specific part of the plant. Another example of this is shown in Fig. 11b .

Figures

Fig. 16 Vitex trifolia L. a. Habit; b. habit; c. inflorescence; d. infructescence; e. attenuate terminal leaflet base (a: Kunstler 57; b: Fung 20500; c: Du Puy CI. 63; d: van Borssum Waalkes 1726; e: Afriasstina 1222a; all K). — Photos by Seda Sengun.

Fig. 17 Vitex trifolia L. a. Habit (the usual erect form); b. inflorescence; c. flower; d. infructescence; e. habitat and habit (prostrate form on the beach front); f. inflorescence (prostrate plant); g. leaves (prostrate plant). — Photos by R. de Kok.

Fig. 11 Vitex negundo L. a. Habit; b. part of inflorescence; c. flower, side view; d. calyx open, adaxial; e. corolla open; f. style; g. fruit in calyx; h. fruit in crosssection; i. calyx; j. inflorescence axis in cross-section (a, c, e–f, j: Sengun 31; b, d, g–i: Xiao Bai-Zhong 3849; all K). — Drawing by Juliet Beentje.