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Chaste tree

A herb that lends itself to basketmaking.

The chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus) is commonly found at lower altitudes, predominantly in riverbeds, damp areas behind coastal dunes, and along lake shores.

The genus name 'Vitex' comes from the Latin word 'vitreus,' signifying 'wicker.' This is attributed to the flexible branches of the chaste tree, mirroring its historical application in basketry.

The term ‘agnus–castus’ is derived from the Greek ‘agnos’ (‘chaste’) and the Latin ‘castus’ (‘pure’). The chaste tree, since antiquity, has also held a reputation as an anaphrodisiac, a suppressant of sexual desire. According to Dioscorides, it was considered ‘sterile’ (=unable to produce offspring), and women in the Thesmophoria used its branches as a bed to uphold their purity.

According to the Region of Crete, in mythology, Prometheus adorned his head with a wreath made of chaste tree branches as a remembrance of the fetters he once bore crafted from them. Additionally, as mentioned by Homer in the Iliad, Achilles bound the sons of Priam with chaste tree branches in the forests of Ida.

The chaste tree can reach a height of three metres and blooms throughout the summer until November. Both its flowers and palmate leaves emit a pleasant aroma.

Info: Wikipedia