Vitex negundo seed
LATIN NAME: VITEX NEGUNDO
COMMON NAME: Five-Leaved Chaste Tree, Chinese Chaste Tree
The five-leaved chaste tree is a graceful, aromatic shrub with a long and useful history. It grows as a loose, open shrub or small tree, usually two or three metres tall, with slender, greyish branches and palm-shaped leaves divided into five narrow leaflets, each with a pleasant, spicy scent when crushed. Through late summer it carries tall, slender spikes of small, two-lipped flowers in soft shades of blue, lavender and mauve, very attractive to the bees and the butterflies, while the whole shrub has a fresh, medicinal fragrance that has been valued for centuries. It is a member of the mint family, native to a wide belt across Asia, from India through China and into Southeast Asia, where it grows along the rivers, the roadsides and the open ground, and it has been used in traditional medicine across its range for thousands of years.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The five-leaved chaste tree is a serious subject of natural-products research. The leaves contain a range of bioactive compounds, including the flavonoids, the iridoid glycosides and the essential oils, and the plant has been studied extensively for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial and pain-relieving activity, connecting its widespread use in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine to the modern laboratory work. It is one of the most thoroughly studied medicinal plants of the Indian subcontinent, and the researchers continue to examine its chemistry and its potential in drug development, while in ecology its drought tolerance and its fast growth make it useful in the research on land restoration and the medicinal-plant cultivation. For a shrub that grows wild along every lane, the five-leaved chaste tree has a rich and distinguished record of research, and it is best appreciated as a subject of study and a fine garden shrub rather than a casual remedy.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
To grow the Five-Leaved Chaste Tree from seed, ecologically, the five-leaved chaste tree is a generous plant of the warm garden. Its blue flower spikes feed the bees, the butterflies and the other pollinators through the late summer, and its dense growth gives shelter for the birds and the insects, while it thrives in the hot, dry places where many plants struggle. Its economic value is considerable: the leaves and the twigs are used widely in traditional medicine across Asia, and they are a steady commodity in the herbal trade, while the plant is also grown as an ornamental for its aromatic foliage and its blue flowers, and it is useful for hedging and for stabilising the dry ground. To raise the five-leaved chaste tree, sow the small seeds on the surface of moist compost, press them in lightly with the palm, keep them lightly watered, and grow the little shrubs on in full sun.
sow the small seeds on the surface of moist compost, press the young chaste trees in lightly with the palm, keep them lightly watered, and grow the little shrubs on in full sun.
LATIN NAME: Vitex negundo
COMMON NAME: Five-leaved Chaste Tree, Chinese Chaste Tree
Five-leaved chaste tree is a graceful, aromatic shrub with a long and useful history. It grows as a loose, open shrub or small tree, usually two or three metres tall, with slender, greyish branches and palm-shaped leaves divided into five narrow leaflets, each with a pleasant, spicy scent when crushed. Through late summer it carries tall, slender spikes of small, two-lipped flowers in soft shades of blue, lavender and mauve, very attractive to bees and butterflies. The flowers give the plant a delicate, airy beauty, and the whole shrub has a fresh, medicinal fragrance that has been valued for centuries.
Five-leaved chaste tree belongs to the mint family, Lamiaceae, and it is native to a wide belt across Asia, from India through China and into Southeast Asia, where it grows along rivers, roadsides and open ground. It is a tough, fast-growing shrub that thrives in poor soil and full sun, and it has been used in traditional medicine across its range for thousands of years.
Positive & Encouraging Seed Germination Guide
Growing five-leaved chaste tree from seed is easy and gives good results. The small, round seeds germinate readily in warm, light conditions, so sow them in late winter or spring on the surface of a tray of free-draining seed compost, press them in gently, and keep them warm, bright and lightly moist. Germination usually begins within two to four weeks. Pot the seedlings on as they grow and give them full sun and good drainage, protecting them from severe frost while young. The young plants grow quickly and are remarkably tough once established, tolerating heat, drought and poor soil. Within a couple of seasons you will have a graceful, aromatic shrub covered in blue flower spikes, feeding the bees every summer.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
Five-leaved chaste tree is a serious subject of natural-products research. The leaves contain a range of bioactive compounds, including flavonoids, iridoid glycosides and essential oils, and the plant has been studied extensively for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial and pain-relieving activity, connecting its widespread use in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine to modern laboratory work. It is one of the most thoroughly studied medicinal plants of the Indian subcontinent, and researchers continue to examine its chemistry and its potential in drug development. In ecology, its drought tolerance and fast growth make it useful in research on land restoration and medicinal-plant cultivation. For a shrub that grows wild along every lane, five-leaved chaste tree has a rich and distinguished record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, five-leaved chaste tree is a generous plant. Its blue flower spikes feed bees, butterflies and other pollinators through late summer, and its dense growth gives shelter for birds and insects. It thrives in hot, dry places where many plants struggle.
Its economic value is considerable. The leaves and twigs are used widely in traditional medicine across Asia, valued for joint and inflammatory complaints, and they are a steady commodity in the herbal trade. The plant is also grown as an ornamental for its aromatic foliage and blue flowers, and it is useful for hedging and for stabilising dry ground. For a grower, five-leaved chaste tree is a multi-purpose plant with a steady market, and for a gardener it brings fragrance, blue flowers and a very long tradition of healing.
Vitex negundo, commonly known as the five-leaved chaste tree, is a large aromatic shrub with quadrangular, densely whitish, tomentose branchlets. It is widely used in folk medicine, particularly in South and Southeast Asia. It is in flower from September to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. Edible Uses: seed – occasionally used as a condiment, it is a pepper substitute. When washed to remove the bitterness it can be ground into a powder and used as a flour, though it is very much a famine food used only when all else fails. A tea is made from the roots and leaves.