OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Vitex rotundifolia   FAMILY Lamiaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Vitex rotundifolia   FAMILY Verbenaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Vitex rotundifolia

INCLUDED WITHIN Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (Wunderlin & Hansen, 2011)

Vitex trifolia

 

COMMON NAME:
Beach Vitex, Roundleaf Chaste-tree


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Vitex rotundifolia, Beach Vitex, Roundleaf Chaste-tree

    wwwhqusacearmymil_vitex

        

Kudzu of the Beach

image of Vitex rotundifolia, Beach Vitex, Roundleaf Chaste-tree

Forest and Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org    bug_5285038

Month Unknown        HI

A shrub or woody vine with runners, this can sprawl more than 60', per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).

image of Vitex rotundifolia, Beach Vitex, Roundleaf Chaste-tree

Forest and Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org     bug_5286092

Month Unknown        

Stems root at nodes, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).

image of Vitex rotundifolia, Beach Vitex, Roundleaf Chaste-tree

Forest and Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org     bug_5286095

Month Unknown        

Brittle stems break during high tides, floating off to colonize new beaches, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).

image of Vitex rotundifolia, Beach Vitex, Roundleaf Chaste-tree

Forest and Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org     bug_5287063

Month Unknown        

Leaves oval, silvery-gray, with a spicy odor when crushed, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).

image of Vitex rotundifolia, Beach Vitex, Roundleaf Chaste-tree

Forest and Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org     bug_5287075

Month Unknown        

Small clusters of violet-blue flowers bloom at branch ends, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Vitex rotundifolia   FAMILY Lamiaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Vitex rotundifolia   FAMILY Verbenaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Vitex rotundifolia

INCLUDED WITHIN Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (Wunderlin & Hansen, 2011)
Vitex trifolia

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1666

Shrub; Woody vine
Perennial

Habitat: Coastal dunes, planted for ornament and stabilization and now spreading aggressively as an invasive species, per Weakley's Flora

Non-native: east & southeast Asia & nearby islands

Uncommon (rare in GA)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.


INVASIVE

This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:

 

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple, or palmately compound with 3 leaflets
Opposite

FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Purple/ Bluish-purple
Bilaterally symmetrical
Slightly 2-lipped 5-toothed calyx
2-lipped 5-lobed salverform corolla
4 exserted stamens, attached to corolla tube
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Purple-black

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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