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Beach Vitex

Vitex rotundifolia (VY-teks roh-tun-di-FOH-lee-ah)

Family: Lamiaceae Unknown Herbaceous (1-3 ft)

Beach Vitex was brought from Korea to North Carolina beaches in the mid-1980s to protect beaches from coastal erosion. It is very salt spray and drought tolerant. Within a few years, it spread to natural beaches and undeveloped islands through its rapidly growing runners. Beach Vitex is a serious threat to native dune plants, nesting sites for sea turtles, and foraging and nesting areas for shorebirds from Georgia to Maryland. It is listed as a Class B Noxious Weed by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In the coastal counties of North Carolina, it is now illegal to sell, distribute or move this species from one property to another. Beach Vitex: Kudzu of the Coast? Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 55 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Native alternatives Spartina bakeri Uniola paniculata
Similar, less problematic Panicum amarum

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Ground Cover; Shrub
Life cycle
Woody
USDA zones
6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
12 inches-3 feet; 3 feet-6 feet; 6-feet-12 feet; 12-24 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in. | Width: 6 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Spreading
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Oblong; Obovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Soft
Leaf value
Fragrant
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Round, dark gray-green leaves 2 1/2" long with whitish-gray on the underside. Base tapering to rounded apex subacuminate to rounded.
Flower color
Blue; Purple/Lavender
Flower form
Cyme; Panicle
Flower shape
Lipped; Tubular
Flower detail
Purple blue 3" cymes arranged in a pyramidal panicle. Flowers two-lipped with 5 lobes.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Black; Purple/Lavender
Fruit type
Drupe
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Globose fleshy drupe 1/4" diameter round green when unripe, purple-black when ripe becoming dark brown when dry.
Bark detail
Older stems have attractive fissured bark.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Origin
Korea
Wildlife value
Flowers attract butterflies.
Attracts
Butterflies
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Summer
Fruit type
Drupe
Landscape Use
Garden tags
#invasive #deciduous #showy fruits #wind tolerant #naturalizes #nectar plant #drought tolerant #fragrant leaves #hairy leaves #salt tolerant #high maintenance #sandy soils tolerant #clay soils tolerant #butterfly friendly #Noxious Weed (state list) #vigorous #aggressive #fast growing #vine #wildlife friendly #weedy #poor soil tolerant
Problems & Resistance
Problems
Invasive Species; Weedy
Resistant to
Drought; Erosion; Poor Soil; Salt; Wind

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.