About 18 species are known in cultivation. V. agnus-castus and Vitex negundo are often grown in temperate climates.[7] About six others are frequently grown in the tropics.[8] Most of the cultivated species serve as ornamentals. Some provide valuable lumber. The flexible limbs of some species are used in basket weaving.[6] Some of the aromatic species are used medicinally[8][9] or to repel mosquitos.[8]
The genus Vitex was named by LinnaeusinSpecies Plantarum in 1753.[10]Vitex was the name used by Pliny the Elder for V. agnus-castus. It is derived from the Latinvieo, meaning to weave or to tie up, a reference to the use of V. agnus-castus in basketry.[11]
As a result of phylogenetic studies of DNA sequences, Vitex is one of several genera that were transferred from the Verbenaceae to the Lamiaceae in the 1990s. It is the largest genus in the subfamilyViticoideaeofLamiaceae.[4]Taxon sampling in molecular phylogenetic studies has never been sufficient to test the monophyly of the Viticoideae, but it is generally thought to be an unnatural group.[12] The subfamily is probably diphyletic, with Premna, Gmelina, and Cornutia constituting one clade, and with Vitex, Petitia, Pseudocarpidium, and Teijsmanniodendron constituting the other.[13]
Vitex is a genus of shrubs and trees, from 1.0 to 35 m tall. Some species have whitish bark that is characteristically furrowed. Leaves are opposite, usually compound. The fruit is a drupe.[14]
In 2009, a molecular phylogenetic study showed that three small genera, Paravitex, Viticipremna, and Tsoongia, are embeddedinVitex. These three genera were duly sunk into synonymy with Vitex.[13]
Pseudocarpidium, Petitia, and Teijsmanniodendron possibly are nested within Vitex. Sampling in the 2009 study was not sufficient to determine the phylogenetic position of these genera. The relationshipsofTeijsmanniodendron to these genera was not discussed in a revisionofTeijsmanniodendron in 2009.[15]
^ abRaymond M. Harley, Sandy Atkins, Andrey L. Budantsev, Philip D. Cantino, Barry J. Conn, Renée J. Grayer, Madeline M. Harley, Rogier P.J. de Kok, Tatyana V. Krestovskaja, Ramón Morales, Alan J. Paton, and P. Olof Ryding. 2004. "Labiatae" pages 167-275. In: Klaus Kubitzki (editor) and Joachim W. Kadereit (volume editor). The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants volume VII. Springer-Verlag: Berlin; Heidelberg, Germany. ISBN978-3-540-40593-1
^Vitex In: Index Nominum Genericorum. In: Regnum Vegetabile (see External links below).
^ abDavid J. Mabberley. 2008. Mabberley's Plant-Book third edition (2008). Cambridge University Press: UK.
^Anthony J. Huxley, Mark Griffiths, and Margot Levy (editors). 1992. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. The Macmillan Press Limited, London; The Stockton Press, New York.
^ abcGeorge W. Staples and Derral R. Herbst "A Tropical Garden Flora" Bishop Museum Press: Honolulu (2005)
^Carolus Linnaeus. 1753. Species Plantarum 2:706. Laurentii Salvii. (see External Links below).
^Umberto Quattrocchi. 2000. CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names volume I, page 91. CRC Press: Boca Raton; New York; Washington, DC;, US. London, UK. ISBN978-0-8493-2673-8 (set). (see External links below).
^Systematics of Lamiaceae Subfamily Viticoideae. At: Website of Kew Gardens. (see External links below).
^ abGemma L.C. Bramley, Félix Forest, and Rogier P.J. de Kok. 2009. "Troublesome tropical mints: re-examining generic limits of Vitex and relations (Lamiaceae) in South East Asia". Taxon58(2):500-510.
Ray Harley, "In search of Labiatae in Eastern Brazil", Vitex: A Newsletter for Lamiaceae and Verbenaceae Research, ISSN1470-0123, Issue 1, February 2000, page 5.
Media related to Vitex at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Vitex at Wikispecies
