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Useful Tropical Plants

Vitex gigantea

Kunth

Lamiaceae


This species is very closely related to Vitex cymosa and Vitex flavescens[
434
Title
Flora of Peru
Publication
 
Author
Macbride. J.F.
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History
Year
1936
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.
].

+ Synonyms

Common Name:

No Image.

General Information

Vitex gigantea is a tree growing up to 10 metres tall[
504
Title
Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Vol. 24
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Smithsonian Institute; Washington.
Year
1931
ISBN
 
Description
A treatment of the edible fruits of Ecuador is jut one of the articles in this publication. It can be downloaded from the internet.
].
The tree is harvested from the wild for mainly local used as a food and source of a good quality wood. It is cultivated for its fruit in Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador[
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
]. The fruit is sold in local markets[
504
Title
Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Vol. 24
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Smithsonian Institute; Washington.
Year
1931
ISBN
 
Description
A treatment of the edible fruits of Ecuador is jut one of the articles in this publication. It can be downloaded from the internet.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

434
Title
Flora of Peru
Publication
 
Author
Macbride. J.F.
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History
Year
1936
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.

Range

S. America - Peru, Ecuador.

Habitat

Coastal lowlands[
504
Title
Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Vol. 24
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Smithsonian Institute; Washington.
Year
1931
ISBN
 
Description
A treatment of the edible fruits of Ecuador is jut one of the articles in this publication. It can be downloaded from the internet.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitTree
Height8.00 m
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

Fruit[
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
]. The fruit has the size and appearance of ripe olives. It has a thin, almost black skin and a juicy brown flesh surrounding a single, rather large seed[
504
Title
Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Vol. 24
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Smithsonian Institute; Washington.
Year
1931
ISBN
 
Description
A treatment of the edible fruits of Ecuador is jut one of the articles in this publication. It can be downloaded from the internet.
]. A rather bitter flavour, it is not apt to be appreciated by those unaccustomed to it[
504
Title
Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Vol. 24
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Smithsonian Institute; Washington.
Year
1931
ISBN
 
Description
A treatment of the edible fruits of Ecuador is jut one of the articles in this publication. It can be downloaded from the internet.
].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The wood is valuable[
434
Title
Flora of Peru
Publication
 
Author
Macbride. J.F.
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History
Year
1936
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.
].
We have no more information on the wood for this species. However, we have a general description for the wood of S. American species of this genus, which is as follows:-
The heartwood is variable according to the species, ranging from yellowish-brown through deep brown, olive-green or olive-brown; it is usually not sharply demarcated from the whitish, yellow, or pale brown sapwood. The texture is rather fine to moderately coarse; the grain straight, sometimes irregular; lustre ranges from low to high; there is no distinctive odour or taste. A silica content of 0.76% is reported. Depending on the species, durability varies from moderately durable to very durable when exposed to a white-rot and brown-rot fungus. Actual field exposures show some species as durable and others as susceptible to attack by decay fungi and insects. Reports are also variable on seasoning, material from Panama had a moderate drying rate and no appreciable defects. The wood is easy to work with both hand and machine tools, though there is some tearing if grain is irregular; it takes a high polish. It is used for purposes such as furniture, millwork, veneer and plywood, general carpentry, mallet heads, chisel handles and flooring[
316
Title
Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607.
Publication
 
Author
Chudnoff. Martin.
Publisher
USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin.
Year
1984
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-28. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Vitex+gigantea>

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