Vitex rotundifolia
Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Vitex trifolia ssp. litoralis
- Phonetic Spelling
- VY-teks roh-tun-di-FOH-lee-ah
- This plant is an invasive species in North Carolina
- Description
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Beach Vitex was brought from Korea to North Carolina beaches in the mid-1980s to protect beaches from coastal erosion. It is very salt spray and drought tolerant. Within a few years, it spread to natural beaches and undeveloped islands through its rapidly growing runners. Beach Vitex is a serious threat to native dune plants, nesting sites for sea turtles, and foraging and nesting areas for shorebirds from Georgia to Maryland.
It is listed as a Class B Noxious Weed by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In the coastal counties of North Carolina, it is now illegal to sell, distribute or move this species from one property to another. Beach Vitex: Kudzu of the Coast?
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Vitex
- Species:
- rotundifolia
- Family:
- Lamiaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Korea
- Wildlife Value:
- Flowers attract butterflies.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 6 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Ground Cover
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Spreading
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- High
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Sand
- Shallow Rocky
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12 inches-3 feet
- 3 feet-6 feet
- 6-feet-12 feet
- 12-24 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Purple/Lavender
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Summer
- Fruit Type:
- Drupe
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Globose fleshy drupe 1/4" diameter round green when unripe, purple-black when ripe becoming dark brown when dry.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Blue
- Purple/Lavender
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Cyme
- Panicle
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Shape:
- Lipped
- Tubular
- Flower Description:
- Purple blue 3" cymes arranged in a pyramidal panicle. Flowers two-lipped with 5 lobes.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Gray/Silver
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Soft
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Opposite
- Leaf Shape:
- Oblong
- Obovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- Round, dark gray-green leaves 2 1/2" long with whitish-gray on the underside. Base tapering to rounded apex subacuminate to rounded.
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Bark:
- Surface/Attachment:
- Fissured
- Bark Description:
- Older stems have attractive fissured bark.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Cross Section:
- Square
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Landscape:
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Drought
- Erosion
- Poor Soil
- Salt
- Wind
- Problems:
- Invasive Species
- Weedy
