Vitex harveyana

H. H. W. Pearson

Scrambling fingerleaf, Three finger-leaf

Lamiaceae Edible: Fruit 33 iNaturalist observations

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

Description

A shrub or small tree. It grows 3-7 m tall. It is slightly hairy. The branches have lines along them or are angled. The leaves are opposite and compound. The leaf stalk is slender and 3 cm long. The leaves have 3 or 5 leaflets. The blades are oval and slightly wavy along the edge. The leaves are 8 cm long by 4 cm wide. The flowering stalks are in the axils of leaves. The flowers are in a loose clusters. They are mauve or white. The fruit is round and black. It is 1.2 cm across.

Edible Uses

The ripe fruit are eaten raw.

Traditional Uses

The ripe fruit are eaten raw.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a subtropical plant.

Where It Grows

Africa, East Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland,

Notes

Also put in the family Verbenaceae.

Synonyms

Vitex geminataVitex schlechteri

Also Known As

Mbidvongo, Umbendula, Umkhosikati, Whorled finger-leaf

References (9)

Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 363
Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
Palmer & Pitman, 1972,
Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 199
Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 72

Show all 9 references

Schmidt, E., Lotter, M., & McCleland, W., 2007, Trees and shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park. Jacana Media p 580
Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora
Van Wyck, B., & Van Wyck, P, 1997, Field Guide to Trees of Southern Africa. Struik. p 476
Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179