Common Name: Chocolate Berry

General Information

Vitex payos is a shrub or small tree with a rounded crown; it can grow 4 - 10 metres tall[].
These fruits, the 'real' chocolate berries of Africa, are a very popular food in parts of southern and eastern Africa, where local people collect them in quantity for their own use and also to sell in local markets[, ]. The low-growing tree is attractive enough to have promise purely as an ornamental, especially when in full flower[].
Vitex payos has a very wide distribution, large population, is not currently experiencing any major threats and no significant future threats have been identified. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2020)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

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

Habitat

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

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	8.00 m
Pollinators	Bees
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

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[].

Edible Uses

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[].

Medicinal

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[].

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, tool handles and spoons[, ].
The wood is used for fuel[, ].

Propagation

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

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