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
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
See more pictures at www.invasive.org.
Read more about Vitex at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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.
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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).
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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).
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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).
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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).
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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
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)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Forest Health Assessment & Applied Sciences Team: New Invaders of the Northeast
- Forest Health Assessment & Applied Sciences Team: New Invaders of the Southeast
- NC Department of Transportation
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014
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!
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p181
- Invasive Exotic Plants of North Carolina (Smith, 2008) p024
- New Invaders of the Northeast and Northcentral US (Rawlins et al., 2018) p009
- New Invaders of the Southeast (Rawlins et al., 2018) p009
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".