Stats

Lifespan

20-50 yrs

Size

Medium

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Mediterranean shrubland

Range

Mediterranean Basin

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Common

About

This shrub grows in Mediterranean scrublands and produces spikes of purple flowers. It sheds its leaves in winter and grows new ones from woody stems each spring.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Lamiales

Family

Lamiaceae

Genus

Vitex

Species

Vitex agnus-castus