Its range includes continents and islands stretching from India east to Hawaii and from Korea south to Australia.

At maturity, V. rotundifolia produces blue-purple flowers that are borne in clusters and ultimately yield small brown-black fruits.

Control efforts are presently underway to protect the fragile beach dune ecosystem.

Vitex rotundifolia is a sprawling shrub that can grow as tall as 1.5 m though it typically ranges from 0.5 to 1 m in height.

The leaf shape varies from ovate to obovate with acute bases and obtuse apices.

The fruits are globose drupes that are green while immature but turn yellow and red before maturing to bluish black.

[8] Seeds germinate into tender seedlings that bear two cotyledons and quickly develop two red-margined true leaves.

[9] The generic epithet, Vitex, is derived from the Latin viere, meaning “to bind or twist” in reference to the rope-like stems produced by some species in the genus.

Despite the fact that the revision is well supported with volumes of data, many authors continue to incorrectly place the plant in Verbenaceae.

Recent revisions of the genus Vitex have placed V. rotundifolia in synonymy with V. trifolia subsp.

[4] Likely due to the wide range over which V. rotundifolia is native, the plant has acquired a host of common names.

The plant was observed by Munir from Northern and Western Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, New Caledonia, Polynesia, Hawaii, Malaya, Philippines, and Hong Kong.

[34] Beach vitex is a perennial that grows throughout the summer months in temperate and tropical areas of the Pacific.

In the southeastern United States, leaves emerge in April while flowering occurs from June–August with fruiting following shortly thereafter.

V. rotundifolia is capable of overwintering on the dunes in South and North Carolina and in gulf coastal areas.

[34] Insect visitation is the likely method of pollen transfer due to the spatial separation of the anthers and stigma, which would make self-pollination unlikely.

[36] Due to this wide range of visitors, it is unlikely the plant would require a specialist insect to mediate successful pollination.

[37] The physical dormancy mechanism is believed to be inforced at least in part by cuticular alkanes that prevent water penetration.

[37] This dormancy mechanism allows for the establishment of a substantial soil seed bank that is capable of surviving and producing new seedlings in excess of 4 years after all vegetation has been removed.

There is substantial supportive evidence of a water-based dispersal mechanism for beach vitex fruits.

[34] Fruits are covered with thick coatings of hydrophobic cuticular alkanes allowing them to resist water penetration for extended periods.

Significant variations have been observed with regard to genotype and chemotype of various beach vitex samples collected from across China.

[43] Vitex rotundifolia fruits have been shown to transfer cuticular alkanes to the sand substrate.

[38] This hydrophobicity might negatively impact dune recovery or serve as a means for limiting growth of native plant species.

[44] These same organizations believe that V. rotundifolia may limit the ability of baby turtles to reach the ocean after they hatch.

If scientific evidence is found to support claims that V. rotundifolia harms sea turtles, this threat would constitute a substantial environmental issue.

Methyl chloride is produced naturally, but may be responsible for a substantial portion of the negative impacts on the stratospheric ozone layer.

In light of the invasive characteristics of V. rotundifolia, it has been added to the North Carolina Noxious Weed List (effective 2/1/2009).

Plants on this list are effectively banned within the state in that possession, sale, and transport of these species is illegal.