Vitex agnus-castus L.

 
  • Family : VERBENACEAE
    (Verbena Or Vervain Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : SAGVAN FAMILY (सागवान फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System IV) : Lamiaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Agnus-castus alba Carrière; Agnus-castus macrostachya Carrière; Agnus-castus robusta (Lebas) Carrière; Agnus-castus vulgaris Carrière; Agnus-castus vulgaris var. alba (Weston) Carrière; Vitex agnus Stokes; Vitex agnus var. integerrima Stokes; Vitex agnus-castus f. alba (Weston) Rehder; Vitex agnus-castus var. alba Weston; Vitex agnus-castus f. albiflora Moldenke; Vitex agnus-castus var. angustifolia Aiton; Vitex agnus-castus f. caerulea (Rehder) Moldenke; Vitex agnus-castus var. caerulea Rehder; Vitex agnus-castus subsp. haussknechtii Bornm.; Vitex agnus-castus f. laciniosa (Ces.) Moldenke; Vitex agnus-castus var. laciniosa Ces.; Vitex agnus-castus var. latifolia (Mill.) G.Don; Vitex agnus-castus f. latifolia (Mill.) Rehder; Vitex agnus-castus var. latifolia Aiton; Vitex agnus-castus var. pseudonegundo Hausskn.; Vitex agnus-castus f. rosea Rehder; Vitex agnus-castus var. serrata Moldenke; Vitex haussknechtii (Bornm.) Prain; Vitex hybrida Moldenke; Vitex integra Medik.; Vitex latifolia Mill.; Vitex lupinifolia Salisb.; Vitex negundo var. macrophylla Moldenke; Vitex pseudonegundo (Hausskn.) Hand.-Mazz.; Vitex robusta Lebas; Vitex verticillata Lam.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Vitex agnus-castus L.
  • Habit : Shrub or Tree
  • Key identification features : Tall shrub or small tree, 3-6m high; Bark light grey with faint pink tint, cracking into rectangular plates with edges bent upward; Young shoots slightly tetrahedral, grey; Leaves opposite, palmately compound, each leaf consists of 3-7 leaflets, 8-12cm long, 12-14cm wide, lower surface covered with white tomentum; Inflorescence paniculate, terminal or axillary, 15-20cm long, 6-8cm wide; Flowers arranged in airy half-umbels, numerous, about 0.8–1.0 cm long, 0.3–0.4 cm wide; Calyx campanulate, 0.2–0.3 cm long, about three times shorter than the corolla, densely hairy, sometimes woolly, margins rounded, slightly wavy teeth; Corolla bilabiate, upper lip two-incised, lower lip three-incised, inner side of the lower lip hairy, especially the middle lobe with long shaggy hairs, petals pale pink, pink, dark pink, lilac, purple, or occasionally white colored; Stamens 4, exserted; Pistal exserted, ovary round, about 0.1cm in diameter; Fruit round, drupe, 3-4mm diameter, dark brown to black, with blue bloom, shiny surface, enclosed by woolly calyx.
  • Flower, Fruit : June-November
  • Native : Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Baleares, Bulgaria, Corse, Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, Egypt, France, Greece, Gulf States, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Morocco, North Caucasus, NW. Balkan Pen., Pakistan, Palestine, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Medit. to Central Asia and India (NW. Rajasthan)
  • Literature :
    • Dash, S. S., & Mao, A. A. (Eds.). (2018). Flowering Plants of India: An Annotated Checklist-Dicotyledons Volume II. Director, Botanical Survey of India.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : https://indiatrees-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Vitex agnus-castus
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Trees and Vegetation Types. Vitex agnus-castus. Downloaded on 3 October 2026.

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution
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