Vitex parviflora Juss., Lamiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 9 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: lagundi

English: molave, molave, small-leaved vitex, smallflower chastetree

Other: molauin

Habit:  shrub/tree

Description:  "A tree or shrub; leaves of 3 leaflets, main petiole 2-10 cm long, leaflets oblong-lanceolate, 6-15 cm long, glabrous or fine-puberulent dorsally only on the midrib, petiolules 8-25 mm long; panicles terminal and upper-axillary; to 20 cm long; calyx-tube 2 mm, corolla-tube 5-6 mm long; filaments basally hairy; ovary glabrous or distally with a few hairs; drupe glabrate" (Stone, 1970; p. 509).

Habitat/ecology:  In dry thickets, common and widely distributed in the Philippines (Merrill, 1912; p. 404).

Propagation:  Bird-dispersed seed (Staples et al., 2000; p. 31).

Native range:  Philippines.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 509)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 239)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1968) (voucher ID: BISH 81863) Taxon name on voucher: Vitex parviflora Juss.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1962) (voucher ID: BISH 188001) Taxon name on voucher: Vitex parviflora Juss.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1978) (voucher ID: BISH 652461) Taxon name on voucher: Vitex parviflora Juss.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1954) (voucher ID: BISH 652462) Taxon name on voucher: Vitex parviflora Juss.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1978) (voucher ID: PTBG 22231) Taxon name on voucher: Vitex parviflora
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. (2000) (p. 31)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2008) (p. 10) Voucher cited: D. Frohlich & A. Lau 2007111501 (BISH)
New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea) New Guinea Island	New Guinea Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Malakal Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 239) Toirechuil
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (pp. 395-396) Common in both secondary and open primary forests at low altitudes.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Comments:  Introduced to Guam and invasive there.

Additional information:
Photos and additional information at the University of Guam "Plants of Guam" web site.
Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.

Additional online information about Vitex parviflora is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Vitex parviflora as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Vitex parviflora may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1954. Voucher specimen #BISH 652462 (Fosberg, F.R. 35532).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1962. Voucher specimen #BISH 188001 (Long, J.O.; collector's voucher number unknown).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1968. Voucher specimen #BISH 81863 (Falanruw, M.V.C. 954).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1978. Voucher specimen #BISH 652461 (Fosberg, F.R. 58334).

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex. 2008. New plant records from O‘ahu for 2007. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2007. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 100:3-12.

Merrill, E. D. 1912. A flora of Manila. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 490 pp.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 3 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 628 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.