Smallflower chastetree

Description

Vitex parviflora is a species of plant in the family Verbenaceae, also known as smallflower chastetree or the molave tree. It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. It is threatened by habitat loss. The name molave is from Spanish, derived from Tagalog mulawin. It is also known as tugas in Visayan languages. It yields one of two woods from the same genus called molave wood, the other being Vitex cofassus. It is valued in the Philippines for its dense durable wood, and was once used extensively in furniture, boats, utensils, and as construction material. However, due to overharvesting and habitat loss, it is now classified as endangered by the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Vitex is a genus of flowering plants in the sage family Lamiaceae. It has about 250 species. Common names include chaste tree or chastetree, traditionally referring to V. agnus-castus but often applied to other species as well. Species of Vitex are native throughout the tropics and subtropics, with a few species in temperate Eurasia and one in New Zealand. About 18 species are known in cultivation. Vitex agnus-castus and Vitex negundo are often grown in temperate climates. About six others are frequently grown in the tropics. Most of the cultivated species serve as ornamentals. Some provide valuable lumber. The flexible limbs of some species are used in basket weaving. Some of the aromatic species are used medicinally or to repel mosquitos. The genus Vitex was named by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753. Vitex was the name used by Pliny the Elder for Vitex agnus-castus. It is derived from the Latin vieo, meaning to weave or to tie up, a reference to the use of Vitex agnus-castus in basketry. As a result of phylogenetic studies of DNA sequences, Vitex is one of several genera that were transferred from Verbenaceae to Lamiaceae in the 1990s. It is the largest genus in the subfamily Viticoideae of Lamiaceae. Taxon sampling in molecular phylogenetic studies has never been sufficient to test the monophyly of Viticoideae, but it is generally thought to be an unnatural group. The subfamily is probably diphyletic, with Premna, Gmelina, and Cornutia constituting one clade, and with Vitex, Petitia, Pseudocarpidium, and Teijsmanniodendron constituting the other. Vitex is a genus of shrubs and trees, from 1 to 35m tall. Some species have whitish bark that is characteristically furrowed. Leaves are opposite, usually compound. The fruit is a drupe.