Recent from talks
Vitex agnus-castus
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Vitex agnus-castus
Vitex agnus-castus (also called vitex, chaste tree / chastetree, chasteberry, Abraham's balm, lilac chastetree, or monk's pepper) is a plant native of the Mediterranean region. It is one of the few temperate-zone species of Vitex, which is on the whole a genus of tropical and subtropical flowering plants. Vitex is a cross-pollinating plant, but its self-pollination has been recorded.
Theophrastus mentioned the shrub several times, as ágnos (ἄγνος) in Enquiry into Plants. It has been long believed to be an anaphrodisiac – leading to its name as "chaste tree" – but its effectiveness for such action remains unproven. The shrub was utilized for religious rituals in ancient Greece and among the Philistines in modern Palestine as well as other countries in the Levant region.
Vitex, its name in Pliny the Elder, is derived from the Latin vieo, meaning to weave or to tie up, a reference to the use of V. agnus-castus in basketry. Its macaronic specific name agnus-castus repeats "chaste" in both Greek and Latin; the small tree was considered to be sacred to the virginal goddess Hestia/Vesta. The most common names are "chaste tree", "vitex", and "monk's pepper".
Vitex agnus-castus is widely cultivated in warm, temperate, and subtropical regions for its delicately textured, aromatic foliage and butterfly-attracting midsummer spikes of lavender flowers opening in late summer in cooler climates. It grows to a height of 1–5 m (3–16 ft). It requires full sun, though tolerates partial shade, along with well-draining soil. Under ideal conditions, it is hardy to −23 °C (−9 °F) USDA Zone 6. In colder zones, the plant tends to die back to the ground, but as it flowers on new wood, flowering is not affected on vigorous growth in the following season. Cold and wet weather results in dieback and losses. The plant grows well on loamy, neutral to alkaline soil.
In cultivation in the UK, the form V. agnus-castus f. latifolia has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
The fruits from one single tree can be harvested for more than 15 years. This indicates that the tree cannot be integrated in a usual crop rotation system. It is suggested to sow dissimilar plants such as monocots as its subsequent crop so that it might be easier to control the monk's pepper plant, the dicot. Because the fruits of monk's pepper tend to fall constantly and uncontrollably, the plant likely can germinate from seed. The overall best yield per hectare reportedly can be achieved if the plant spacing is around 70 cm (28 in). Pruning back the branches in autumn has a positive influence on fruit yield while repruning in spring can induce an increase of vegetative shoots, thus a fruit yield loss.
This plant can also be reproduced vegetatively. One possibility is to use 5–8-centimetre (2–3 in) pieces of the ripening wood with buds in July or August and another is to cut the ripe wood in November and then let it root in a coldframe. Also in vitro reproduction with spike of the shoots or node explants is possible.
The flowering and ripening processes do not happen simultaneously, enabling harvesting of both fresh fruits and seeds over a long span of time. The fruits tend to fall from the plant as they ripen, getting lost in the soil. Thus, it has no optimal fixed harvest time. Consequently, to avoid yield loss, unripe fruits need to be harvested. This early harvesting has no effect on quality. Overall, harvesting the fruits by hand likely is the most convenient solution.
Hub AI
Vitex agnus-castus AI simulator
(@Vitex agnus-castus_simulator)
Vitex agnus-castus
Vitex agnus-castus (also called vitex, chaste tree / chastetree, chasteberry, Abraham's balm, lilac chastetree, or monk's pepper) is a plant native of the Mediterranean region. It is one of the few temperate-zone species of Vitex, which is on the whole a genus of tropical and subtropical flowering plants. Vitex is a cross-pollinating plant, but its self-pollination has been recorded.
Theophrastus mentioned the shrub several times, as ágnos (ἄγνος) in Enquiry into Plants. It has been long believed to be an anaphrodisiac – leading to its name as "chaste tree" – but its effectiveness for such action remains unproven. The shrub was utilized for religious rituals in ancient Greece and among the Philistines in modern Palestine as well as other countries in the Levant region.
Vitex, its name in Pliny the Elder, is derived from the Latin vieo, meaning to weave or to tie up, a reference to the use of V. agnus-castus in basketry. Its macaronic specific name agnus-castus repeats "chaste" in both Greek and Latin; the small tree was considered to be sacred to the virginal goddess Hestia/Vesta. The most common names are "chaste tree", "vitex", and "monk's pepper".
Vitex agnus-castus is widely cultivated in warm, temperate, and subtropical regions for its delicately textured, aromatic foliage and butterfly-attracting midsummer spikes of lavender flowers opening in late summer in cooler climates. It grows to a height of 1–5 m (3–16 ft). It requires full sun, though tolerates partial shade, along with well-draining soil. Under ideal conditions, it is hardy to −23 °C (−9 °F) USDA Zone 6. In colder zones, the plant tends to die back to the ground, but as it flowers on new wood, flowering is not affected on vigorous growth in the following season. Cold and wet weather results in dieback and losses. The plant grows well on loamy, neutral to alkaline soil.
In cultivation in the UK, the form V. agnus-castus f. latifolia has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
The fruits from one single tree can be harvested for more than 15 years. This indicates that the tree cannot be integrated in a usual crop rotation system. It is suggested to sow dissimilar plants such as monocots as its subsequent crop so that it might be easier to control the monk's pepper plant, the dicot. Because the fruits of monk's pepper tend to fall constantly and uncontrollably, the plant likely can germinate from seed. The overall best yield per hectare reportedly can be achieved if the plant spacing is around 70 cm (28 in). Pruning back the branches in autumn has a positive influence on fruit yield while repruning in spring can induce an increase of vegetative shoots, thus a fruit yield loss.
This plant can also be reproduced vegetatively. One possibility is to use 5–8-centimetre (2–3 in) pieces of the ripening wood with buds in July or August and another is to cut the ripe wood in November and then let it root in a coldframe. Also in vitro reproduction with spike of the shoots or node explants is possible.
The flowering and ripening processes do not happen simultaneously, enabling harvesting of both fresh fruits and seeds over a long span of time. The fruits tend to fall from the plant as they ripen, getting lost in the soil. Thus, it has no optimal fixed harvest time. Consequently, to avoid yield loss, unripe fruits need to be harvested. This early harvesting has no effect on quality. Overall, harvesting the fruits by hand likely is the most convenient solution.
Recent media