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Vitex diversifolia

Baker

Lamiaceae Edible: Fruit, Leaves

Description

A shrub or small tree. It grows up to 6 m high. The bark is dark grey and scaly. The leaves are not divided. They have a white covering when young. The flowers are in the axils of leaves and in groups 10-15 cm long. They are green with purple-violet sepals. The fruit is oval. It is 2.5 cm long by 1.5 cm wide. It is green with white dots. It has 3 seeds. Now Vitex madiensis subsp. madiensis

Edible Uses

The fruit has a thin edible pulp. The leaves are also edible.

Traditional Uses

The fruit have a thin edible pulp.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It grows in the Sahel near groundwater. It grows in the Africa savannah. It can grow in arid places.

Where It Grows

Africa, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Guinée, Ivory Coast, Niger, Nigeria, Sahel, Sudan, West Africa,

Notes

Also put in the family Verbenaceae. Vitex diversifolia Baker is a synonym of Vitex madiensis subsp. madiensis Vitex diversifolia Kurz is an Asian species.

Synonyms

Vitex simplicifolia Oliv.Vitex vogelii Baker

References (3)

  • Ambe, G., 2001, Les fruits sauvages comestibles des savanes guinéennes de Côte-d’Ivoire : état de la connaissance par une population locale, les Malinké. Biotechnol. Agron. Soc. Environ. 5(1), 43-48 (Vitex spp.)
  • Belem, M., et al, 2017, Strategy of Conservation and Protection of Wild Edible Plants Diversity in Burkina Faso. ANADOLU 27 (2) 2017, 82- 90
  • Maydell, H. von, 1990, Trees and shrubs of the Sahel: their characteristics and uses. Margraf. p 395

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