Vitex

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Vitex
Vitex altissima
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Subfamily: Viticoideae Briquet
Genus: Vitex
L.[1]
Type species
Vitex agnus-castus
L.
Diversity
About 250 species
Synonyms

Macrostegia Nees
Neorapinia Moldenke

Vitex /ˈvaɪtɛks/[2] is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae Martynov, nom. cons. (Labiatae Jussieu, nom. cons. et nom alt.).[3] It has about 250 species.[4] Its type species is Vitex agnus-castus.[5] There is no universal English name, though "chastetree" (commonly referring to V. agnus-castus specifically) is common for many species. Generally, they are simply called vitex however.

Species of Vitex are native throughout the tropics and subtropics, with a few species in temperate Eurasia.[6]

About 18 species are known in cultivation. Vitex 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 Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753.[10] 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.[11]

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.[4] 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.[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]

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 alternate, usually compound. The fruit is a drupe.[14]

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.[13]

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.[15]

Selected species

Vitex cannabifolia flowers
Vitex chrysocarpus fruit and autumn leaves

Formerly placed here

References

  1. ↑ "Genus: Vitex L.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2004-09-10. Retrieved 2010-12-12. 
  2. ↑ "Vitex". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. September 2005. 
  3. ↑ List of Genera in Lamiaceae. At: Peter F. Stevens. 2001 onwards. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see External links below).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Raymond 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. ISBN 978-3-540-40593-1
  5. ↑ Vitex In: Index Nominum Genericorum. In: Regnum Vegetabile (see External links below).
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 David J. Mabberley. 2008. Mabberley's Plant-Book third edition (2008). Cambridge University Press: UK.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 George W. Staples and Derral R. Herbst "A Tropical Garden Flora" Bishop Museum Press: Honolulu (2005)
  9. ↑ Tadzabia K, Maina HM, Maitera ON, Osunlaja AA (2013). "Elemental and Phytochemical Screening of Vitex Doniana Leaves and Stem Bark in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria". International Journal of Chemical Studies 1 (3): 165–172. 
  10. ↑ Carolus Linnaeus. 1753. Species Plantarum 2:706. Laurentii Salvii. (see External Links below).
  11. ↑ Umberto Quattrocchi. 2000. CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names volume I, page 91. CRC Press: Boca Raton; New York; Washington, DC;, US. London, UK. ISBN 978-0-8493-2673-8 (set). (see External links below).
  12. ↑ Systematics of Lamiaceae Subfamily Viticoideae. At: Website of Kew Gardens. (see External links below).
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Gemma 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". Taxon 58(2):500-510.
  14. ↑ "Vitex Linn.". Manual of the New Zealand Flora. 
  15. ↑ Rogier P.J. de Kok, Go Rusea, and Abdul Latiff. 2009. "The Genus Teijsmanniodendron Koord. (Lamiaceae)". Kew Bulletin 64(4):587-625.

Sources

  • Ray Harley, "In search of Labiatae in Eastern Brazil", Vitex: A Newsletter for Lamiaceae & Verbenaceae Research, ISSN 1470-0123, Issue 1, February 2000, page 5.

External links

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