''Vitex keniensis'' (also called Meru oak) is a species of

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

in the family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. It is a magnificent tree when mature, being one of the largest trees that are native to Kenya. Due to its use as a source of wood that is both durable and has an attractive grain it has been severely

over-exploited Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...

and is now very rare.

Description

''Vitex keniensis'' has a tall, straight trunk and light green leaves with five leaflets arranged in a vaguely star-like formation. Each leaflet can be up to 25 cm long with a prominent midrib. Young trees are particularly susceptible to a disease of the leaves that produces "bubbles" all over the upper surface of the leaves but which does not appear to affect the growth of the tree. It produces small black fruits or berries that are edible and are used in making something quite sweet and similar to chocolate.

References

keniensis Endemic flora of Kenya Vulnerable flora of Africa Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Plants described in 1915 {{Lamiaceae-stub