Vitex vestita
Wallich ex Schauer
Roasted bean tree, Rusty-hair vitex
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(c) Leonora Enking, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
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President and Fellows of Harvard College
Description
A shrub or small thin tree. It grows 6 m high. It is 5 cm across the trunk. The bark is light. The branches are 4 sided. The leaves have 3 leaflets. The leaflets are 3-10 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. They have a hairy covering underneath. The leaves are light green. The leaf stalks are 2-6 cm long. The flowers are creamy white. The fruit are green to brown. They are 6-9 mm long by 4-8 mm wide. Edible flower.
Edible Uses
The flowers are edible. The fruit are roasted and have a flavour similar to broad beans.
Traditional Uses
The fruit are roasted and have the flavour of broad beans.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Distribution
A tropical plant. In China in southern Yunnan is grows in dry hillsides between 580-1,400 m altitude.
Where It Grows
Asia, Brunei, China, India, Indochina, Laos, Myanmar, SE Asia,
Notes
Also put in the family Verbenaceae.
Also Known As
Tauksha
References (2)
- Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 683
- Hu, Shiu-ying, 2005, Food Plants of China. The Chinese University Press. p 645
