The genus
Vitex was named by
Carl Linnaeus in
Species Plantarum in 1753.
Vitex was the name used by
Pliny the Elder for
V. agnus-castus. It is derived from the Latin word
vieo, meaning to weave or to tie up, a reference to the use of
V. agnus-castus in basketry. As a result of
phylogenetic studies of
DNA sequences,
Vitex is one of several genera that were transferred from the
Verbenaceae to the Lamiaceae in the 1990s. It is the largest genus in the
subfamily Viticoideae of
Lamiaceae. The subfamily is probably
diphyletic, with
Premna,
Gmelina, and
Cornutia constituting one
clade, and with
Vitex,
Petitia,
Pseudocarpidium, and
Teijsmanniodendron constituting the other. The
type species is
Vitex agnus-castus. In 2009, a
molecular phylogenetic study showed that three small genera,
Paravitex,
Viticipremna, and
Tsoongia, are
embedded in
Vitex. These three genera were duly sunk into
synonymy with
Vitex.
Species ,
Plants of the World Online accepts the following 211 species: ==Uses==