It has been long believed to be an anaphrodisiac – leading to its name as "chaste tree" – but its effectiveness for such action remains unproven.

[6] Vitex, its name in Pliny the Elder, is derived from the Latin vieo, meaning to weave or to tie up, a reference to the use of V. agnus-castus in basketry.

[7] Its macaronic specific name agnus-castus repeats "chaste" in both Greek and Latin; the small tree was considered to be sacred to the virginal goddess Hestia/Vesta.

[5] Vitex agnus-castus is widely cultivated in warm, temperate, and subtropical regions for its delicately textured, aromatic foliage and butterfly-attracting midsummer spikes of lavender flowers opening in late summer in cooler climates.

[4] In cultivation in the UK, the form V. agnus-castus f. latifolia has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

[14] The flowering and ripening processes do not happen simultaneously, enabling harvesting of both fresh fruits and seeds over a long span of time.

[6] Vitex has been used in traditional medicine for reproductive health issues in women, but only limited high-quality clinical evidence supports its effectiveness.

[5][24] In ancient Greece, the chaste tree played a significant role in the female agricultural festival of Thesmophoria, dedicated to honoring the goddesses Demeter and Persephone in Greek cities.

In Archaic Sparta, in the 8th–6th centuries BCE, it was incorporated into the cult of the local agriculture goddess, Artemis Orthia.

In the second century CE, Pausanias mentioned that the wooden image of Asclepius in Sparta was crafted from the chaste tree.

Additionally, there is botanical and textual evidence supporting the significance of the chaste tree at the Heraion of Samos during the 6th–3rd centuries BCE.

[6] In a Philistine temple at Gath, an excavation uncovered around 100 chaste tree fruits, a find unparalleled in both quantity and context compared to other locations in Israel.

[6] Notably, the chaste tree is linked to the binding of Hera, where it featured in rituals celebrating her mythology at Samos.

[27] Women on birth-control pills, hormone-replacement therapy, or having a hormone-sensitive condition, such as breast cancer, are advised not to use chasteberry.