text: Vitex
  
  Vitex  is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. It has about 250 species. Common names include "chaste tree" or "chastetree", traditionally referring to V. agnus-castus but often applied to other species as well.
  
  Species of Vitex are native throughout the tropics and subtropics, with a few species in temperate Eurasia.
  
  About 18 species are known in cultivation. Vitex agnus-castus and Vitex negundo are often grown in temperate climates. About six others are frequently grown in the tropics. Most of the cultivated species serve as ornamentals. Some provide valuable lumber. The flexible limbs of some species are used in basket weaving. Some of the aromatic species are used medicinally or to repel mosquitos.
  
  The genus Vitex was named by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753. Vitex was the name used by Pliny the Elder for Vitex agnus-castus. It is derived from the Latin vieo, meaning to weave or to tie up, a reference to the use of Vitex agnus-castus in basketry.
  
  Vitex is one of several genera that was transferred from Verbenaceae to Lamiaceae in the 1990s as a result of phylogenetic studies of DNA sequences. It is the largest genus in the subfamily Viticoideae of Lamiaceae. Taxon sampling in molecular phylogenetic studies has never been sufficient to test the monophyly of Viticoideae, but it is generally thought to be an unnatural group. The subfamily is probably diphyletic, with Premna, Gmelina, and Cornutia constituting one clade, and with Vitex, Petitia, Pseudocarpidium, and Teijsmanniodendron constituting the other.
  
  Description
  Vitex is a genus of shrubs and trees, from 1 to 35m tall. Some species have whitish bark that is characteristically furrowed. Leaves are opposite, usually compound. The fruit is a drupe.
  
  Circumscription 
  In 2009, a molecular phylogenetic study showed that three small genera, Paravitex, Viticipremna, and Tsoongia are embedded in Vitex. These three genera were duly sunk into synonymy with Vitex.
  
  It is possible that Pseudocarpidium, Petitia, and Teijsmanniodendron are nested within Vitex. Sampling in the 2009 study was not sufficient to determine the phylogenetic position of these genera. The relationships of Teijsmanniodendron to these genera was not discussed in a revision of Teijsmanniodendron in 2009.
  
  Selected species 
  
   Vitex acunae
   Vitex agnus-castus — Chasteberry, monk's pepper, chastetree
   Vitex ajugaeflora
   Vitex altissima
   Vitex amaniensis
   Vitex capitata
   Vitex chrysocarpa
   Vitex cofassus
   Vitex cooperi
   Vitex cymosa
   Vitex divaricata
   Vitex doniana — Wild African black plum, koronfinfin
   Vitex evoluta
   Vitex gaumeri
   Vitex gigantea
   Vitex heptaphylla
   Vitex keniensis — Meru oak
   Vitex kuylenii
   Vitex lehmbachii
   Vitex leucoxylon
   Vitex lignum-vitae — Yellow hollywood, lignum-vitae
   Vitex lindenii
   Vitex longisepala
   Vitex lucens — Puriri
   Vitex megapotamica
   Vitex negundo — Five-leaf chastetree
   Vitex obovata
   Vitex orinocensis
   Vitex parviflora — Molave tree
   Vitex peduncularis
   Vitex pinnata
   Vitex quinata
   Vitex rotundifolia — Beach vitex
   Vitex triflora
   Vitex trifolia — Simpleleaf chastetree
   Vitex tripinnata
   Vitex urceolata
   Vitex yaundensis
   Vitex zanzibarensis
   Vitex zeyheri
  
  References
  
  Sources 
   Ray Harley, "In search of Labiatae in Eastern Brazil", Vitex: A Newsletter for Lamiaceae & Verbenaceae Research, , Issue 1, February 2000, page 5.
  
  External links 
  
   List of Genera in Lamiaceae, Missouri Botanical Garden
   Vitex, Index Nominum Genericorum
   Vitex in Biodiversity Heritage Library
   CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: R-Z
   Systematics of Lamiaceae Subfamily Viticoideae
  
  Category:Lamiaceae genera
   
  Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus