Vitex Information
Vitex (pronounced /ˈvaɪtɛks/)[2] is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. [3] It has about 250 species. [4] Its type species is Vitex agnus-castus. [5]
Species of Vitex are native throughout the tropics and subtropics, with a few species in temperate Eurasia. [6] Vitex is a genus of shrubs and trees, from 1 to 35m tall.
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 or to repel mosquitos. [8]
The genus Vitex was named by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753. [9] 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. [10]
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. [11] The subfamily is probably diphyletic, with Premna, Gmelina, and Cornutia constituting one clade, and with Vitex, Petitia, Pseudocarpidium, and Teijsmanniodendron constituting the other. [12]
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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 synomymy with Vitex. [12]
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. [13]
Selected species
- Vitex agnus-castus L. – Chaste tree, Chasteberry or Monk's Pepper (Mediterranean region)
- Vitex cofassus Reinw. ex Blume
- Vitex doniana Sweet
- Vitex keniensis Turrill – Meru Oak (Kenya)
- Vitex lignum-vitae (A.Cunn. ex Schauer) Piep. – Lignum-Vitae (eastern Australia)
- Vitex lucens Kirk – Puriri (New Zealand)
- Vitex negundo L. – Five-leaf chaste tree (Asian and African tropics)
- Vitex parviflora Juss. – Molave Tree (Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines)
- Vitex pinnata L.
- Vitex rotundifolia L.f. – Beach vitex
- Vitex trifolia L. – Simpleleaf chastetree[14]
Formerly placed here
- Gmelina leichhardtii (F.Muell.) Benth. (as V. leichhardtii F.Muell.)[14]
References
- ^ "Genus: Vitex L.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2004-09-10. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?12733. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ "Vitex". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2nd ed. 1989.
- ^ List of Genera in Lamiaceae. At: Peter F. Stevens. 2001 onwards. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see External links below).
- ^ a b 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
- ^ Vitex In: Index Nominum Genericorum. In: Regnum Vegetabile (see External links below).
- ^ a b David J. Mabberley. 2008. Mabberley's Plant-Book third edition (2008). Cambridge University Press: UK.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b George W. Staples and Derral R. Herbst "A Tropical Garden Flora" Bishop Museum Press: Honolulu (2005)
- ^ Carolus Linnaeus. 1753. Species Plantarum 2:706. Laurentii Salvii. (see External Links below).
- ^ Umberto Quattrocchi. 2000. CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names volume I, page 91. CRC Press: Boca Raton; New York; Washington,DC;, USA. London, UK. ISBN 978-0-8493-2673-8 (set).
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Rogier P.J. de Kok, Go Rusea, and Abdul Latiff. 2009. "The Genus Teijsmanniodendron Koord. (Lamiaceae)". Kew Bulletin 64(4):587-625.
- ^ a b "GRIN Species Records of Vitex". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?12733. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
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
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vitex |
| Wikispecies has information related to: Vitex |
- List of Genera in Lamiaceae At: Lamiaceae At: Lamiales At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: Missoure Botanical Garden Website
- Vitex At:Index Nominum Genericorum At: References At: NMNH Department of Botany
- Vitex In: Species Plantarum volume 2 At: Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Systematics of Lamiaceae Subfamily Viticoideae At: Kew Gardens
Categories: Lamiaceae
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