Vitex lucens (Puriri)
Botanical name: Vitex lucens
Common names: Puriri, New Zealand Chaste tree
Family: Lamiaceae (Formerly:Verbenaceae)
Origin: New Zealand
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
The name Chaste tree for this species comes from a species of southern Europe,Vitex agnus-castus, where it was treated by ancients as a symbol of chastity and long ago discussed in this regard by Pliny the Elder. Puriri does not mean that the species from New Zealand is pure, but coincidentally a tree along the coast near the Bay of Plenty is treated as sacred by the Maori people; they claim that the remains of important ancestors repose in large cavities within its roots.
Similar plants: Vitex lucens (Puriri)
- Gmelina macrophylla (Grey Teak)
- Vitex agnus-castus (Chaste Berry)
- Vitex glabrata (Black Currant Tree)
- Vitex megapotamica (Taruma)
- Vitex negundo (Five-leaved Chaste Tree)
- Vitex rotundifolia (Beach Vitex)
- Vitex sp. 'Variegata' (Variegated Arabian Lilac)
- Vitex trifolia 'Variegata' (Variegated Arabian Lilac)
- Vitex trifolia 'Purpurea' (Arabian Lilac)
Link to this plant:
https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/vitex_lucens.htm