Chocolate Berry
Vitex payos

Family: Lamiaceae

What it is like

Chocolate Berry, Vitex payos, is a shrub or small tree with a rounded crown and grows up to 10 m in height. It is commonly grown in tropical Africa. The chocolate brown or black fruits are sweet and edible. It can be eaten raw or cooked, or made into jams. Medicinally, the plant is used for stomach ailments, threadworm, skin problems, and loss of appetite. Fallen leaves are used as a mulch. The wood is very hard and suitable as poles and spoons. It is also used for fuel.

Vitex payos is a TREE growing to 8 m (26ft) by 8 m (26ft) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Bees. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.

Height (m): 8

Where it is found

Open woodland, wooded grassland and on rocky outcrops at elevations from 50 - 1,500 metres

Tropical Africa - DR Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Angola; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Tanzania, United Republic of; Zambia; Zimbabwe, Africa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria, North Africa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Southern Africa, Sudan, Uganda, West Africa.

How it is used

Food

Rating: 4

Fruit - raw or cooked. Sweet, with a mealy texture. It can be made into jam. Each fruit is about 2 cm long, with pointed tips and a chocolate brown or black skin. The juicy pulp surrounds a single hard stone. A very popular fruit in parts of Africa, it is definitely an acquired taste for people who have not eaten it previously. Westerners are typically offended by the flavour, the powdery texture, the oily feel in the mouth, and the strong smell323]. The fruits have a rather unpleasant smell, and leave a temporary black stain on the teeth, but they are much eaten by children and herdsmen.

Medicine

Rating: 2

A decoction of the root is used as a remedy for stomach problems. The pounded bark is used to treat threadworm and skin problems. The leaves are boiled and the liquid drunk by patients who have lost their appetite.

Appetizer: Improves the appetite

Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.

Other

Rating: 2

Agroforestry Uses: The leaf fall of the tree acts as a mulch to improve soil condition. Other Uses The wood is very hard. It is used for poles and spoons. The wood is used for fuel.

Fuel: Usually wood, plant materials that have been mentioned as being a good fuel.

Mulch: Used for covering the ground to conserve the nutrients in the soil.

Soil conditioner: Plants grown to improve the structure of the soil. See also Green manures.

Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

Vitex payos is a species of the tropics, growing in hot, low and semi-arid places with a high water table. In more arid zones it is found near rock outcrops. It grows in areas where the mean annual rainfall is within the range 650 - 850 metres. The tree coppices well.

Propagating it: Seed - it has a hard seed coat which hinders germination. In the wild the seedcoat is broken by annual fires.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Medium

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Dry, moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Anhongore, Azeitona-pequeno, Azeitona, Budeg keboke, Bugua, Bume-aincaobe, Bume, Cetona-pequena, Cetona, Ekarukei, Ewelu, Intompinha, Koro, Kukukunkuri, Kuo, Mangua, Muni, Murukukwe, N'ssogorro, Odoandri, Oyelo gwok, Oyelu, Oywelo too,

Synonyms

Allasia payos Lour. Vitex allasia Planch. Vitex eylesii S.Moore Vitex hildebrandtii Vatke Vitex irin