Vitex trifolia, commonly known as the simpleleaf chastetree or blue Vitex, is a species of plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is a shrub or small tree native to coastal areas of the Indo-Pacific region.
Description Vitex trifolia is a large coastal shrub or small tree, up to in height and a trunk up to diameter. The leaves are oppositely arranged along the stems and are usually compound, composed of three or five leaflets. The central leaflets may grow up to long and wide, and the lateral leaflets may be long and wide. The upper surfaces of the leaves are green and the lower surfaces are grayish green.
The flowers are born in panicles or clusters up to in length. Individual flowers have mauve or purple, five-lobed that are about long and wide; they are finely hairy outside and have a dense patch of longer hairs in the mouth of the tube. The stamens are long, and the ovary is globular and about diameter. The fleshy fruits are up to in diameter and contain four small seeds.
Taxonomy Two varieties are recognised , Vitex trifolia var. taihangensis and the autonym Vitex trifolia var. trifolia.
Distribution and habitat Vitex trifolia naturally occurs close to coasts in beach forest and the landward side of mangrove swamps, usually below altitude.
It is native to the following regions as defined in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions: Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, Mozambique, KwaZulu-Natal, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius. Asia-Temperate: Afghanistan, Iran, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Nansei-shoto, Taiwan. Asia-Tropical: Assam, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Andaman Islands, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaya, Maluku, Philippines, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, Solomon Islands. Australia: New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia. Pacific: Caroline Islands, Marianas, Marshall Islands, Wake Island, Cook Islands, Line Islands, Marquesas, Society Islands, Tuamotu, Tubuai Islands.
Conservation status The species is classed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The reason for this assessment is that the plant is widely distributed and also widely cultivated, and despite some loss of habitat it is thought to be not under any threat.
Traditional medicine In Samoa it is used to relieve fever, exhaustion, asthma, headache and rashes. In Fiji a poultice of the leaves is used to treat broken bones and abrasions; in the Solomon Islands the leaves are used as a treatment for headache; on Bougainville it is used as a laxative; in Truk the leaves are made into a tea to treat itching skin.
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Common names
English: common blue vitex, hand of Mary, Indian privet, simpleleaf chastetree, three-leaved chaste tree. Spanish: abrecaminos, vencedor, vencedora. Chinese: man jing Portuguese (Brasil): tarumâ Seychelles - bois noux noux Cook Islands - rara Tonga - lalatahi Samoa - namulega India:Vitex trifolia, Dr. K.M. Nadkarni's Indian Materia Medica, by A.K. Nadkarni, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1976, pp: 1281-2. Sanskrit - jalanirgundi; sindhuka; surasa; vrikshaha Hindi - nichinda; panikisanbhalu; sufed-sanbhalu Manipuri - urikshibi Bengali - paniki-shumbala; pani-samalu Kannada - nira-lakki-gida Malayalam - lagondi; nirnoschi Tamil - nirnochi; sirunochi (நொச்சி) Telugu - niruvavili; shiruvavili (నీరువావిలి) Indonesia Indonesian - legundi -> Dutch: legoendi Aceh - grupheueng Bali - liligundi Bugi - lawaranill (ᨒᨓᨑᨊᨗ) Philippines - lagundi, halamang gamot Malaysia - lemuni (especially in northern region)
References
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