chastetree Verbenaceae Vitex
negundo L.
symbol: VINE2
Leaf: Opposite, palmately compound, 2 to 6 inches across, usually five leaflets per leaf (3-7), leaflets ovate, obovate or lanceolate wih entire or toothed margins, light green above and pale pubescent below, very aromatic when crushed.
Flower: Lilac, in loose slender spiked panicles at the branch tips, to 8 inches, mid-summer.
Fruit: Round green and fleshy, drying and turning brown, 1/8 inch in diameter, persistent through winter, held cup-like.
Twig: Slender, opposite, gray-brown, quadrangular, buds are wedge-shaped to rounded and gray-brown.
Bark: Initially smooth and gray-brown, becoming blocky on older stems.
Form: A large shrub or small tree to 15 feet. When planted too far north it may freeze to the ground.
Looks like: lilac chastetree
- beach vitex