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Vitex aesculifolia

Description

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Family Verbenaceae

Shrubs or trees , sometimes climbing shrubs, rarely herbs. Indumentum of simple , stellate , and/or other complex hairs . Leaves opposite or rarely whorled , without stipules, simple or 3-foliolate, less often palmately [or pinnately] compound . Inflorescences terminal or axillary , racemose, cymose , spicate , or thyrses . Flowers bisexual or polygamous by abortion , zygomorphic or rarely actinomorphic . Calyx persistent . Corolla 4- or 5- or more lobed ; lobes usually spreading , aestivation overlapping. Fertile stamens inserted on corolla tube , alternate with lobes; filaments free ; anthers dorsifixed , 1- or 2-locular, dehiscing by longitudinal slits or sometimes a circular pore . Ovary entire or 4-grooved, 2-8-locular; ovules 1 or 2 per locule, erect or pendulous. Style terminal, simple, entire or 2-cleft. Fruit a drupe or indehiscent capsule, sometimes breaking up into nutlets . Seeds (1 or) 2-4, endosperm usually absent, seed coat thin; embryo straight, as long as seed; radicle short, inferior.

Some 91 genera and ca. 2000 species: primarily tropical and subtropical , 20 genera and 182 species in China.

The classification of Verbenaceae is in a state of flux, especially regarding its relationship to Lamiaceae. There is evidence to suggest a significant division between members of subfamily Verbenoideae, genera 1-5 in this account, and the remaining genera, including genera 6-20, which for convenience are here referred to as subfamily Viticoideae s.l. The latter are more closely allied to each other and to genera traditionally kept within Lamiaceae (including genera 1-8 in this Flora ) . Avicennia is often placed in a family of its own, but its affinities are clearly with Viticoideae, especially genera 17-19 in this account which have traditionally been placed in a separate subfamily, Symphorematoideae.Shou-liang Chen & Michael G. Gilbert "Verbenaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 17 Page 1. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Genus Vitex

Trees or shrubs . Branches glabrous or sparsely pubescent . Leaves opposite, palmately (1-) 3-8-foliolate; leaflets petiolulate , margin entire , dentate , serrate, or incised. Inflorescences terminal or axillary cymes, thyrses , or panicles; bracts usually small, often early deciduous. Calyx campanulate , tubular , or funnelform , sometimes 2-lipped, usually truncate or shortly 5-dentate. Corolla blue, white, or yellow, 2-lipped, lower lip 3-lobed with middle lobe greatly elongated, upper lip usually 2-lobed. Stamens 4, didynamous , sometimes exserted; anther locules attached only at tip , becoming divaricate . Ovary 2-4-locular; ovules 1 or 2 per locule. Style filiform ; stigma 2-cleft. Drupes subtended by enlarged calyx, globose , ovoid , or obovoid , normally 4-locular and 4-seeded but often some locules suppressed and base of pyrene forming a hollowed cavity , endocarp a bony pyrene, mesocarp generally fleshy . Seeds obovoid or oblong , endosperm absent; cotyledons usually fleshy.

About 250 species: chiefly tropical , few in temperate regions of both hemispheres; 14 species in China."Vitex". in Flora of China Vol. 17 Page 28. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Taxonomy

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Similar Species

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Members of the genus Vitex

There are approximately 480 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

V. acuminata · V. acunae · V. aesculifolia · V. agelaeifolia · V. agelaeifolia var. rufula · V. agnus · V. agnus-castus (Chaste Tree) · V. agnus-castus 'Abbeville Blue' (Chaste Tree) · V. agnus-castus 'Alba' (Chaste Tree) · V. agnus-castus 'Blue Spire' · V. agnus-castus 'Blushing Bride' · V. agnus-castus 'Blushing Spires' (Chaste Tree) · V. agnus-castus 'Lavender Lady' (Chaste Tree) · V. agnus-castus 'Montrose Purple' (Chaste Tree) · V. agnus-castus 'Rosea' · V. agnus-castus 'Shoal Creek' (Chaste Tree) · V. agnus-castus 'Silver Spire' (Silver Spire Chaste Tree) · V. agnus-castus 'Silver Spires' (Chaste Tree) · V. agnus-castus var. agnus-castus · V. agnus-castus var. caerulea · V. agnus-castus var. latifolia (Chaste Tree) · V. agnus-castus var. subtrisecta · V. agnuscastus · V. agraria · V. aherniana · V. ajugaeflora · V. alata · V. altissima · V. amaniensis · V. amazonica · V. amboniensis · V. andongensis · V. angolensis · V. angus-castus · V. annamense · V. annamensis · V. appendiculata · V. appuni · V. arborea · V. aurea · V. avicennioides · V. bahiensis · V. balbi · V. bankae · V. barbata · V. befotakensis · V. benthamiana · V. benuensis · V. bequaertii · V. beraviensis · V. beraviensis f. pilosa · V. beraviensis f. villosa · V. berteroana · V. betsiliensis · V. betsiliensis subsp. barorum · V. bicolor · V. bignonioides · V. bipindensis · V. bogalensis · V. bojeri · V. bojeri var. suborbicularis · V. bombacifolia · V. bracteata · V. brevilabiata · V. brevipetiolata · V. brittoniana · V. buchananii · V. buddingii · V. bulusanensis · V. bunguensis · V. burmensis · V. calothyrsa · V. camporum · V. canescens · V. cannabifolia (Chinese Chaste Tree) · V. capitata · V. capulin · V. carbunculorum · V. carvalhi · V. cauliflora · V. cauliflora var. longifolia · V. cauliflora var. villosissima · V. celebica · V. cestroides · V. chapelieri · V. chariensis · V. chinensis · V. chrysleriana · V. chrysocarpa · V. chrysoclada · V. chrysomallum · V. chrysomallum var. longicalyx · V. chrysomallum var. tomentella · V. cienkowskii · V. ciliata · V. clarkeana · V. clementis · V. cochinchinensis · V. cofassus · V. collina

Bibliography

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More Info

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Notes

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Identifiers

Footnotes

Last Revised: 2008-11-11