Vitex altissima

Vitex altissima, the peacock chaste tree, is a species of woody plant reaching some 20 m in height, in the family family Lamiaceae. It is native to countries of the Indomalayan realm, namely Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, and Sri Lanka.[2] Its greyish bark becomes scaly with maturity. The leaves are trifoliolate or palmate, compound and opposite. They are elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate in shape with acuminate apex and cuneate base. The margin is serrate or sometimes entire. The inflorescences are in terminal panicles. The corolla is bluish white. The purplish black fruit is a four-seeded drupe.[3]

Peacock chaste tree
inflorescences and trifoliolate leaves
upper side of palmate leaf
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Vitex
Species:
V. altissima
Binomial name
Vitex altissima
L.f.
Synonyms
  • Vitex alata Willd.
  • Vitex altissima f. alata (Willd.) Moldenke
  • Vitex appendiculata Rottler ex C.B.Clarke
  • Vitex latifolia Wight ex Steud. [Invalid]
  • Vitex zeylanica Turcz. [Illegitimate][1]

Common names
  • Tamil – Mayilei, Mayilainochi, Mayiladi
  • Malayalam – Myila, Mylellu
  • Marathi – Dhavi-rivthi, Balage
  • Telugu – Ganduparu, Nemiliadogu
  • Kannada – Myrole, Nevaladi, Navuladi, Balgay
  • Sinhala – Milla (මිල්ල) [4]
  • English – Peacock chaste tree, Tall chaste tree
  • Assamese – Ahoi (অহোঈ )
  • Sanskrit – Atulam (अतुलम्), Tilakam (तिलकम्)
  • Nepali – Tin-patte [5][6]

References
  1. "Vitex altissima L.f. — the Plant List".
  2. http://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/31884
  3. "Vitex altissima - VERBENACEAE".
  4. Liyanage, Sunil (2013). "NATURAL DISTRIBUTION OF Vitex altissima IN SRI LANKA". Proceedings of International Forestry and Environment Symposium. 0. doi:10.31357/fesympo.v0i0.1373.
  5. "Vitex altissima - VERBENACEAE".
  6. "Vitex altissima - Peacock Chaste Tree".


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.