Vitex agnus-castus

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 : 95-98

1. Vitex agnus-castus L. — Fig. 1 , 2 ; Map 1

Vitex agnus-castus L. (1753) 638;C.C.Towns.(1972) 148. — Vitex lupinifolia Salisb. (1796) 106, nom. superfl. — Vitex agnus -castus L. var. agnus-castus : Kurz (1877) 269. — Lectotype (designated by Moldenke 1955a: 170): LINN 811.4 (LINN), ‘ex herb. Clifford’.

Vitex verticillata Lam. (1779) 363, nom. inval.

Vitex robusta Lebas (1869) 30. — Agnus -castus robusta (Lebas) Carrière (1870 –1871) 416. — Type: not indicated, syn. nov.

Agnus -castus vulgaris Carrière (1870 –1871) 415. — Type: not indicated, syn. nov.

Agnus -castus vulgaris Carrière var. diversifolia Carrière (1870 –1871) 415. — Type: not indicated, syn.nov.

Agnus -castus vulgaris Carrière var. alba Carrière (1870 –1871) 415. — Vitex agnus -castus f. alba (Carrière) Rehder (1902) 1947. — Type:not indicated, syn. nov.

Agnus -castus vulgaris Carrière var. compacta Carrière (1870 –1871) 415. — Type: not indicated, syn. nov.

Vitex agnus-castus L. var. laciniosa Ces. (1874) 327. — Vitex agnus-castus L. f. laciniosa (Ces.) Moldenke (1979b) 342. — Type: not indicated.

Vitex agnus -castus L. var. caerulea Rehder (1902) 1947. — Vitex agnus -castus L. f. caerulea (Rehder) Moldenke (1979a) 134. — Type: not indicated.

Vitex agnus -castus L. var. serrata Moldenke [(1939) 40, nom. nud.] (1940) 753. — Type: Abeleven s.n. (holo L n.v.), The Netherlands, Botanical Garden Nijmegen .

Vitex agnus -castus L. var. pseudo - negundo Hausskn. f. albiflora Moldenke (1952) 59. — Type: Dinsmore 172f (holo S [S-G-6381]*), Israel, Jesr-ul- Ghajir.

[ Vitex agnus -castus variegata Hort. ex Beissn., Schelle & Zabel (1903) 426, nom. inval.]. — Vitex agnus -castus Carrière f. variegata Moldenke (1967) 87, nom. inval. (no type). — Type: not indicated

Shrub or small tree, 1–3 m high, deciduous. Bark smooth, grey. Leaves 5(–7)-foliolate;petioles 1.6–6.2 cm long. Leaflets: blades elliptic to lanceolate, apex acuminate, base cuneate, margin entire, upper surface dull green, lower surface whitish green; secondary veins 11–15 per side, slightly prominent, visible on both surfaces; terminal leaflets 3–10 by 0.5–1.7 cm; terminal petiolules 0.1–1.2 cm long; lateral leaflets 1–8.4 by 0.3–3.9 cm; lateral petiolules 0–1 cm long; basal leaflets 0.4–4.5 by 0.1– 2.2 cm; basal petiolules 0–0.6 cm long. Inflorescence terminal, consisting of lateral cymes in dense clusters with persistent flowers; axis 7–35 cm long, smooth; bracteoles to 3 mm long, patent to appressed, caducous, drying the same colour as inflorescence. Calyx glands many; tube 1.5–3 mm long; lobes 5–10 by 3–5 mm, lobe apex acute; flowering calyx 3–3.6 mm diam; fruiting calyx 2.8–3.4 mm diam, patent to erect, covering half to most of the mature fruit. Corolla pale lilac to blue, rarely white or whitish; glands few; tube 4.2–7 mm long; anterior lip spathulate, 2.4–4.1 by 2.1–3.9 mm, apex round to acute, with a few hairs on the corolla ridges; lateral lobes 1.3–1.7 by 1.6–1.8 mm, apex round, erect; posterior lip lobes 1.8–2.5 by 1.4–1.9 mm, apex acute, erect. Stamens: filaments 3.1–6.7 mm long, slightly didynamous to equal, inserted at half to basal/ upper 1/3 of the corolla tube; anthers c. 1 mm long. Ovary c. 1 mm diam, glabrous, glands many, sometimes covering the apex; style 6–10 mm long; stigma lobes 0.1–1.2 mm long. Fruit broadly obovoid to globose, when fresh 3– 4 mm diam, dried 2.2–3.3 by 2.5–3.5 mm, glabrous, black to reddish when mature.

Distribution — Greece (Crete, Chios, Samos, Kos, Rhodes and Lesbos), Turkey (throughout the Aegean and the Mediterranean coast, the Black Sea coast up to Trabzon), Ukraine (the Crimea), coastal areas of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan. Cultivated and escaped from cultivation in many western and central Asian countries and around the Mediterranean.

Habitat & Ecology — Often along seasonally dry or permanently flowing rivers and creeks, in open vegetations. Soil: sandy and alluvial soils, sometimes on limestone, 0–750 m altitude. Flowering: June to December; fruiting: July to December.

Uses — Ornamental shrub and used medicinally in Europe and North America for the irregularities of the menstrual cycle, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and painful breasts (masto- dynia) ( Sengun 2017).

Vernacular names — Abraham’s balm, Chase tree, Chaste berry, Hemp tree or Monk’s pepper (English); Gattilier (French); Hayit (Turkish); Mönchspfeffers (German).

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

Notes — 1. Several forms and varieties of this species have been described, which are all based on plants growing in cultivation and are only different from the wild populations in flower colour or leaf variegation. None of these variants warrant formal recognition and therefore are placed in synonymy.

2. Vitex agnus-castus is often confused with V. pseudonegundo from which it differs in having a glabrous corolla lip and ovary, while the latter has a hairy corolla lip and ovary.

Figures

Map 1 Natural distribution of Vitex agnus-castus L.

Fig. 1 Vitex agnus-castus L. a. Habit; b. inflorescence; c. flower, side view; d. calyx open, adaxial; e. corolla open, adaxial; f. style and young ovary; g. young ovary; h. fruit in calyx; i. fruit with calyx removed; j. fruit in cross-section (a, b: Syngrassides 397; c–g: Balls 3365, sheet III; h–j: Balls B1204B; all K). — Drawing by Juliet Beentje.

Fig. 2 Vitex agnus-castus L. a. Deciduous shrub in riverine habitat; b. inflorescence detail with butterfly feeding;c. leaves;d. mature inflorescence erect above the leaves; e. flower; f. stems and bark. — Photos by R. de Kok.