Vitex negundo


Vitex negundo, commonly known as the Chinese chaste tree, five-leaved chaste tree, or horseshoe vitex, or nisinda নিশিন্দা is a large aromatic shrub with, densely whitish, tomentose branchlets. It is widely used in folk medicine, particularly in South and Southeast Asia.
Vitex negundo is an erect shrub or small tree growing from in height. The bark is reddish brown. Its leaves are digitate, with five lanceolate leaflets, sometimes three. Each leaflet is around in length, with the central leaflet being the largest and possessing a stalk. The leaf edges are toothed or serrated and the bottom surface is covered in hair.
The numerous flowers are borne in panicles in length. Each is around long and are white to blue in color. The petals are of different lengths, with the middle lower lobe being the longest. Both the corolla and calyx are covered in dense hairs.
The fruit is a succulent drupe, in diameter, rounded to egg-shaped. It is black or purple when ripe.

Distribution and habitat

Vitex negundo is native to tropical Eastern and Southern Africa and Asia. It is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere.
Countries it is indigenous to include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Vitex negundo are commonly found near bodies of water, recently disturbed land, grasslands, and mixed open forests.

Nomenclature

s of Vitex negunda in different languages include:
The principal constituents of the leaf juice are casticin, isoorientin, chrysophenol D, luteolin, p–hydroxybenzoic acid and D-fructose. The main constituents of the oil are sabinene, linalool, terpinen-4-ol, β-caryophyllene, α-guaiene and globulol constituting 61.8% of the oil.

Uses

Vitex negundo is used for treating stored garlic against pests and as a cough remedy in the Philippines. It is also used to control mosquitoes.
In Malaysia, it is used in traditional herbal medicine for women's health, including treatments for regulating the menstrual cycle, fibrocystic breast disease and post-partum remedies. It has antiseptic, astringent, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties.
In the US, it grows in hardiness zones 6–9 and its purple flowers bloom most of the summer and it is a popular plant visited by bees and butterflies.