VITEX. 



Martiiiico aiiJ Santa Cruz. A tree, with fquare, fmooth 

 branches, alh-coloured when young, moll I'afy at the ex- 

 tremity. Leaflets ovato-lanccolate ; the lateral ones an 

 inch long ; the odd one three or four times as much. 

 Floivrrs whitifh, five-cleft. Drupa half an incli long. 



4. V. pubefcens. Downy Chafte-tree. Vahl Symb. 

 V. 3. 85. Willd. n. 4. ( Piftacio-vitex ; Linn. Zeylon. 195, 

 according to Vahl, from the infpeftion of Her.Tiann's Her- 

 barium.) — Leaves ternate, downy. Panicles three-forked. 

 Brafteas a? long as the calyx. — Native of the Eall Indies. 

 Leajicts near two inches long, ovate, thin, entire ; nearly 

 fmooth above ; ribbed, veiny, and downy, not hoary, be- 

 neath. Panicles large, terminal, their lowermofl bi'anches 

 aKiUary. BraScas oblong, obtufe, hoary. Floivers fix or 

 fcven on the ultimate branches of the panicle, felfile, alter- 

 nate, externally downy. Fruit the fize of pepper. 



y. V. allijfima. Tall Ceylon Chafte-tree. Linn. Suppl. 294. 

 Willd. n. 5. Ait. n. 2. (Mail-Elou ; Rheede Hort. 

 Malab. V. 5. I. t. I.) — Leaves ternate, pointed, nearly 

 entire ; downy beneath. Panicle with racemofe whorled 



branches Found in the extenfive forelis of Ceylon by 



Koenig, who in his MSS. has indicated the indubitable 

 fynonym of Rheede, which the younger Linnajus ne- 

 glefted to quote, and which is likewife omitted in Hort. 

 Kew. and Wilidenow. Rheede fpeaks of this as a tree 

 fifty feet high, found in many parts of Malabar, 

 with a heavy reddilh wood, fit for many ufes. The 

 footjlalks are downy, fometimes winged, from one to 

 three inches long. Leaflets elliptical, contrafted at each 

 end, from two to four inches in length ; nearly fmooth 

 above ; very downy and foft, not hoary, beneath ; their 

 margin ufually entire ; fometimes ferrated. Floivers fmall, 

 fweet-fcented, bluei(h, numerous. The lower branches of 

 the panicle are fome of them four together. Each branch 

 bears numerous, denfe, partly ftalked, many-flowered nvhorls, 

 with downy lanceolate iraiieas. Linnasus, after Koenig, 

 defcribes but three fctds in each drupa, but Rheede fays 

 thsre are three or four. 



6. V. lalifolia. Broad-leaved Chafte-tree. Lamarck n. 5. 

 ( Katou-Mail Elou ; Rheede Hort- Malab. v. 5. 3. t. 2.) — 

 Leaves ternate, ovate, pointed, entire, minutely downy on 

 both fides. Panicle much branched, forked, downy. Brac- 

 teas ovate. — Sent by Dr. Roxburgh from Calcutta. The 

 leaflets are from two and a half to five inches long, and two 

 or two and a half broad, finely veined ; the younger ones 

 foft to the touch. Panicle terminal, with large, oppofite, 

 ilaUced Iracleas, downy on both fides. Calyx, and unex- 

 panded corolla, very downy. 



7. V. j-lgnus-cci/his. Common Chafte-tree. Linn. Sp. PI. 

 890. Willd. n. 6. Alt. n. 3. Woodv. Med. Bot. t. 222. 

 Sm. Fl. Grxc. Sibth. t. 609, unpubhihed. (Vitex; Camer. 

 Epit. 105. Matlh. Valgr. v. i. 177. Ger. Em. 1387. 

 f. I, 2.) — Leaves digitate, with five or feven lanceolate 

 nearly entire leaflets ; hoary beneath. Clullers panicled. 

 Flowers whorled. — Native of low marihy places, about the 

 banks of rivers, in Italy, Sicily and the Levant. Very 

 common throughout Greece, in fuch fituations, flowering 

 in autumn. A low fpreading Jhrub, with long, trailing, 

 tough and pliant branches. Lcajlets long and narrow, taper- 

 ing at each end, with partial footllalks, ufually quite entire, 

 but fometimes broader and ferrated, as in Gerarde's fig. 2. 

 Their upper fide is of a groyifli-green, with a peculiarly 

 fine velvet-like foftnefs ; the under white, and denfely 

 downy. Common footjlalks downy, about half the length 

 of the leaflets. Clujlers terminal, long and cylindrical, di- 

 vided into many denfe whorls of numerous, light bhie, or 



white, jlaiuirs. BraBeas lanceolate, folitary under each 

 Jloiuer, the length of the calyx. The feeds have been cele- 

 brated for a marvellous power of promoting chaftity. The 

 fcent of the recent plant is, to us, peculiarly unpleafant, 

 caufing a degree of naufea or faintnefs, which may perhaps 

 account for its reputed virtues. The prieftefies of Cere* 

 are reported to have made their beds of the boughs of this 

 tree, but whither this arofe from the name in Greek being 

 fynonimous with chaftity, or whether the name was given in 

 allufion to the quality of the plant, no author has recorded, 

 though Diofcorides feems to imply the latter. 



8- V. incifa. Cut-leaved Chafte-tree. Lamarck n. 2. 

 Willd. n. 7. Ait. n. 4. (V. Negundo ; Curt. Mag. 

 t. 364. V. Mill. Ic. 183. t. 17J. f. I, 2.) — Leaves digi- 

 tate, with three or five pinnatifid leaflets ; hoary beneath. 

 Clufter3 panicled. Flowers whorled. — Native of Ciiina. 

 Long known in our gardens, as a greenhoufe flirub, by the 

 name of V. Negundo. Lamarck, who fpeaks of this plant 

 as nearly hardy in the open ground at Paris, firft diftin- 

 guiflied it as a fpecies. It is fmaller in every part than the 

 preceding, and differs in having fewer, fliorter, broader, 

 deeply cut or pinnatifid leaflets. The Jionuers are purphfh, 

 with rounder fegments ; the lower one concave and fome- 

 what heart-fliaped. 



9. V. Negundo. Indian Chafte-tree. Linn. Sp. PI. 

 ed. I. 638. ed. 2. 890. Willd. n. 12. (Negundo arbor 

 mas; Bauh. Hift. v. 2. 189. Bem-nofi ; Rheede Hort. 

 Malab. v. 2. 15. t. 12.) — Leaves digitate, with three or 

 five elliptic-lanceolate, fomewhat ferrated, leaflets ; hoary 

 beneath. Clufters panicled. Flowers loofely whorled. — 

 Native of the Eaft Indies. This appears to be a Jhrub 

 nearly related to tlj^wo laft, but rather larger than either, 

 with more decidedly quadrangular branches. The leaflets, 

 more generally three than five, are broader than the laft, 

 yet not pinnatifid, but only bluntly, and rather fparingly, 

 ferrated. Partial floiver-ftalks more lax and corymbofe. 

 Yet this plant certai-.ily difters from the ferrated variety of 

 V. Agmis-cajlus, havijig fewer, as well as broader, leajlets, 

 and looler nvhorls. The Jloivers feem to be fmaller than in 

 that fpecies. The fynonym of Rumphius, cited by Lin- 

 nasus, evidently belongs to ^. Leucoxylon. Wilidenow and 

 Curtis copy without examination Linmus's citation of 

 Bauhin, which ought to be v. 2, not v. i. The infloref- 

 cence in Bauhin's ligure is very badly reprefented, nor are 

 the leaves at all correfl ; yet there is enough to ftiew that 

 it may be taken from our plant, though certainly nothing 

 capable of giving a juft idea of the fpecies. 



10. V. trijolia. White-leaved Panicled Chafte-tree. 

 Linn. Sp. PI. 890. Willd. n. 9. (Cara-nofi; Rheede 

 Hort. Malab. v. 2. 13. t. it. Lagondium vuTgarc ; 

 Rumph. Amboin. v. 4. 48. t. 18.) — Leaves ternate, fome- 

 times quinate ; leaflets ovate, acute, entire ; hoary beneath. 

 Clufter compound, with forked, elongated, zigzag branches. 

 — Native of the Eaft Indies. The pcrfeftly entire leaflets, 

 and their ovate or elliptical form, clearly mark this fpecies, 

 which is ilill more certainly diftinguilhed by the long, 

 fpreading, doubly forked branches of iis clujlcr, which 

 affumes the afpeit of a panicle, whofe common ilalk is 

 ftraight. The calyx is angular. As to the other fynonyms 

 quoted by Linnaeus, Plukenet's t. 2c6. f- 5. may be any 

 thing; and Burm. Zeyl. t. 109. is a Rhus, with a pro- 

 digious confufion of fynonyms not worth unravelling. 



1 1. V. Leucoxylon. Green-leaved Corymbofe Chafte- 

 tree. Linn. Suppl. 293. Willd. n. 8. Ait. n. 5. (V. 

 paniculata ; Lamarck n. 3, excluding Plukenet's fynonym. 

 Lagondium litti)rcum ; Rumph. Amboin. v. 4. 50. t. 19.) 



N n 2 — Leaves 



