Huang Ping, Chinese chastetree, Cut Leaf Vitex, Cut-leaf Chastetree
Vitex negundo

Family: Verbenaceae

What it is like

Bloom Color: Lavender. Main Bloom Time: Early summer, Late summer, Mid summer. Form: Rounded, Spreading or horizontal.

Vitex negundo is a deciduous Shrub growing to 3 m (9ft) by 3 m (9ft) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 8. It is in flower from September to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor 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): 3

Where it is found

Wasteland up to 2000 metres in the Himalayas. Mixed thickets on mountain slopes at elevations of 200 - 1400 metres in China.

E. Asia - Southwest China to the Himalayas.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 2

Seed - occasionally used as a condiment, it is a pepper substitute. When washed to remove the bitterness it can be ground into a powder and used as a flour, though it is very much a famine food used only when all else fails. A tea is made from the roots and leaves.

Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.

Condiment: the various plants that are used as flavourings, either as herbs, spices or condiments.

Tea: the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.

Medicine

Rating: 3

This species is widely used in Chinese herbal medicine, it is the second most important treatment for chronic bronchitis. (The sub-species V. negundo cannabifolia (Sieb.&Zucc.)Hand-Mazz. is used.) The leaves are astringent, febrifuge, sedative, tonic and vermifuge. They are useful in dispersing swellings of the joints from acute rheumatism, and of the testes from suppressed gonorrhoea. The juice of the leaves is used for removing foetid discharges and worms from ulcers, whilst an oil prepared with the leaf juice is applied to sinuses and scrofulous sores.They are harvested in early summer and used fresh or dried. A decoction of the stems is used in the treatment of burns and scalds. The dried fruit is vermifuge. The fruit is also used in the treatment of angina, colds, coughs, rheumatic difficulties etc. The fresh berries are pounded to a pulp and used in the form of a tincture for the relief of paralysis, pains in the limbs, weakness etc. The root is expectorant, febrifuge and tonic. It is used in the treatment of colds and rheumatic ailments. It is harvested in late summer and autumn, and dried for later use. The plant is said to be a malarial preventative and is also used in the treatment of bacterial dysentery - extracts of the leaves have shown bactericidal and antitumor activity.

Antibacterial: Kills bacteria.

Antitumor: Preventing, or effective against, tumors, it is used in the treatment of cancer. Probably synonymous with Cytotoxic.

Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.

Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.

Expectorant: Clears phlegm from the chest by inducing coughing.

Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.

Malaria: Treats malaria - an acute febrile illness caused by Plasmodium parasites spread to people through the bites of mosquitos.

Sedative: Gently calms, reducing nervousness, distress and irritation.

Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.

Vermifuge: Expels and kills internal parasites.

Other

Rating:

Young stems are used in basket making and for making wattles. The leaves are used to repel insects in grain stores. Extracts of the leaves have insecticidal activity. The fresh leaves are burnt with grass as a fumigant against mosquitoes. The plant is grown on slopes to counter land slides.

Basketry: Plant used in making baskets and other items such as chairs. Includes plants that are only used as an ornamental addition.

Hedge: Plants that can be grown as hedges.

Insecticide: Kills insects.

Repellent: Plants that are said to deter but not necessarily kill various mammals, birds, insects etc.

Soil stabilization: Plants that can be grown in places such as sand dunes in order to prevent erosion by wind, water or other agents.

Hedge: Hedge

Scented Plants: Plants noted for their scent

How it is grown

Landscape Uses:Border, Container, Pollard, Standard, Specimen. An easily grown plant, it prefers a light well-drained loamy soil in a warm sunny position sheltered from cold drying winds. Succeeds in poor dry soils. Plants tolerate temperatures down to about -10°c. They are not very hardy in Britain, they succeed outdoors at Kew, but in general are best given the protection of a sunny wall outside the milder areas of the country. Plants only flower freely after a warm summer, so they are best grown against a sunny wall even in areas where they are hardy. The flowers are produced so late in the season that they are unlikely to produce viable seed in this country even if they flower properly. The plants require abundant summer sunshine in order to ripen their wood fully, the well-ripened wood is more frost resistant. There are some named forms, selected for their ornamental value. The leaves and stems are strongly aromatic. The flowers have a most pronounced musk-like perfume. Special Features: Not North American native, Fragrant flowers, Attractive flowers or blooms.

Propagating it: Seed - sow March in a greenhouse. It does not need any pre-treatment. Germination is usually free and quick. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Good percentage. Cuttings of mature wood of the current seasons growth, November in a cold frame.

Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Hedge;

Habit: Shrub

Hardiness: 6-9

Growth: Medium

Soil: Light (sandy), medium

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Dry, moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Agnus-castus negundo. Vitex nogondo