Vitex glabrata

A large tree about 40-60 ft tall with the trunk girth about 5-8 ft. Trunk exaggeratedly fluted and buttressed often gnarled and covered with round excrescences. Bark ashy gray or brown, corky, smooth, often vertically fissured, pale yellowish inside soon turning greenish black, branches and branchlets obtusely quadrangular, glabrous or obscurely pubescent, nodes flattened. Leaves palmately compound with 3-5 foliolate, leaflets obovate-elliptic or ovate-elliptic, middle leaflets 7-15 × 4-8 cm across, lateral leaflets 5-7 x 2-3 cm across, petiolules 0.5-1 cm long, base acute, margin entire or faintly undulate, apex acute to obtuse, subcoriaceous or chartaceous, thick, dark green shining glabrous above, paler slightly pubescent on the veins beneath, lateral veins 8-16 on either side of the midrib, ascending parallel, margins arcuate, impressed above, prominent beneath, reticulate veinlets, petiole canaliculated, about 3-12 cm long. Inflorescence supra-axillary or terminal corybose cymes, about 10-15 cm across, peduncles, slender, obtusely quadrangular, flat, sulcate between the angles, about 3-4 cm long, bracts inconspicuous, bractlets linear-lanceolate. Flowers bisexual, numerous, greenish white, pedicels 2-3 mm long. Calyx cupular 5 toothed, teeth acute, slightly pubescent outside, about 3 × 3 mm across, Corolla infundibular, 5 lobed, 2-lipped, dull white or purplish blue with white tinge, upper lip 2-lobed, obovate lobes, apex obtuse, lower lip 3 lobed, midlobes suborbicular, concave, apex obtuse, , lower lobe obovate, twice the size of the other 4 lobes, margin subentire, Corolla tube cylindric, densely villous at throat, pubescent outside. Stamens 4, didynamous, exserted, filaments slender, filiform, about 3.5-7 mm long, exserted, villous at the base, anthers obovoid or subglobose, brownish black, 2-celled, Ovary bicarpellary, 4 lobed, obovoid, style slender, stigma bilobed, subulate. Fruit drupaceous, globose, about 1.5-1 cm across, green, glabrous, purplish black when ripe, fruiting calyx platelliform, accrescent, seeds 4, nonendospermous.

Vitex species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects.
Flowering/Fruiting: February-September/October-December.
Seeds dispersed by barochory i.e., gravitational dispersal, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.
Susceptible to insect pests.
Deciduous forests on hills and plateaus.
Local Distribution: Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Assam, Bihar, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, Tripura, West Bengal. 
Global Distribution: Asia: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam; Australasia: Australia; North America: United States of America.
(Attribution- Ganeshaiah, K. N., UAS, Bangalore, India. Kailash, B. R., UAS & ATREE, Bangalore, India. Indian Bioresource Information Network (IBIN), Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi, India.
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Fwd: Vitex glabrata: Need help & Suggestion : 1 post by 1 author. Attachments (5)
For last 1 year I am working on the tissue culture of the Vitex glabrata. 
Before going to the details, I should inform you that, there was only one tree of V.glabrata in Bankura district of West Bengal. Just few days before, in the name of development of road the local Govt. people cut down the single member. Now, this species is extinct in West Bengal. Dr. Deb surveyed rigorously for 10 years to find another tree of the species throughout 1000 sq.km (Sikkim, Bihar, Orissa nd Jharkhand). But he didn’t find a single one. 
After 10 years of various attempt, at last 6 months before, after series of experiments, we are succeeded to germinate V.glabrata in culture medium through embryo culture technique. Also we are trying to do tissue culture. The first part, i.e., germination in culture media is ok. But second part of hardening is toughest one. Due to absence of some sophisticated instruments we are unable to transfer the germinated plant from lab condition to natural condition. We have tried three times. Now, we have collaboration to avail the facilities. 
Now, the main problem is, the tree is not there, & we don’t have sufficient tissues &/or seeds to germinate more seedlings in medium. I tried to contact many resource persons but they are sometimes refusing, or not getting any interest in this matter. If you kindly help us by providing information about the existence of tree, or send us some mature seeds of the tree by any means, I will be very much thankful to you.
I am only trying to conserve the plant in its native habitat. I do not have any bad intentions to commercialize the tree and getting some money. In true sense, I want to regenerate the plant & trying to conserve a small part of my country’s biodiversity. Awaiting for your kind suggestions and cooperation. 
I am attaching some photos of the germinated V.glabrata in culture medium. 

I truly appreciate your concerns and efforts to conserving local biodiversity. Sorry to know about the status of Vitex glabrata in your region. But the good news is that this is not a threatened species (http://www.iucnredlist.org) and it is also reported to be found “common” elsewhere. It is distributed in several states in India as well as in many other countries (Reference: http://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/244971). So, please don’t give up!
Please visit, if not already, nearby botanical gardens including Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden at Howrah and talk to experts. Here you can get more information on the distribution and availability of the species and most probably you may find a tree or more.
Meanwhile, please do tell us more about the plant you are currently working on. You have mentioned in your email that the posted pictures were of the germinated V.glabrata in culture medium. But the leaves in the last two pictures (seem to be well developed) are simple with serrate margins in contrast to the compound leaves with leaflets having entire margins in Vitex glabrata. Do you think the images are attached here erroneously?!

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