Vitex doniana aka Black Plum
Taxonomy ID: 22000
Vitex doniana, commonly known as the black plum, is a deciduous tree in the mint family (Lamiaceae) widely distributed across tropical Africa. Its native range extends from Senegal east to Somalia and south to Angola, Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa, with additional populations on the Comoros and Seychelles islands. Authorities differ on its size: most reports describe a small to medium tree of about 4 to 15 metres, but PROTA documents specimens reaching up to 25 metres tall, with a clean bole up to 11 metres and a trunk diameter approaching 1.6 metres. The crown is typically heavy and rounded, the bark greyish white to pale greyish brown and fissured, and the leaves are digitately compound with three to seven leaflets.
The species inhabits a remarkable range of environments, from dense forest and gallery riverine thickets to wooded savanna, coastal woodland, deciduous woodland and even upland grassland, occurring from sea level to about 1,850 metres. It tolerates rainfall from 600 to 2,500 millimetres a year (optimum 750 to 2,000 mm) and daytime temperatures between 10 and 36 °C, performing best between 14 and 28 °C. Well-drained alluvial soils with a pH around 5.5 to 7 are preferred, though it copes with sandy through clay textures.
Flowering occurs in the second half of the dry season or at the beginning of the rains, and the small white-to-violet flowers are extremely attractive to bees and are also visited by sunbirds, making bees the principal pollinators. The fruits are obovoid to oblong-ellipsoid drupes, two to three centimetres long, ripening to a fleshy purplish black. Their sweet, mealy pulp tastes much like prunes and is rich in potassium and iron; it is eaten raw or used to make jam, syrup, juice, wine and traditional liquor, while the seeds inside the stone are roasted as a coffee substitute and the cooked young leaves are valued as a vegetable.
The black plum is also a cornerstone of African ethnobotany. Decoctions of the bark, roots, leaves and fruit are used traditionally for diarrhoea, dysentery, jaundice, leprosy, fevers, respiratory disease, conjunctivitis and postpartum bleeding, and modern phytochemical work has confirmed antibacterial, hepatoprotective and hypotensive activities, alongside notable phytoecdysteroid content. Beyond food and medicine, its medium-density timber is used for furniture, carving, boat building and tool handles, the wood is burned for fuel and charcoal, and a black ink and dye is produced by boiling the leaves, bark, roots or fruits. Twigs serve as antimicrobial chewing sticks, the seeds yield about 30 percent of a cosmetic oil, and the heavy crown together with reputed nitrogen-fixing roots makes it a useful agroforestry shade and pioneer species in evolving gallery forests. The IUCN Red List has assessed the species as Least Concern, reflecting its very wide and abundant distribution.
Common names
Black Plum, Prune Fingerleaf, DunyaMore information about Black Plum
How difficult is Black Plum to grow?
Vitex doniana is a tropical tree of African forests and savannas, not a houseplant. Where conditions allow (USDA zones 10-12, full sun, well-drained alluvial soil), it is reasonably easy to establish from seed or root suckers, with reported plantation survival of 80-90% after three years.
How big does Black Plum get and how fast does it grow?
Growth rate is moderate. In northern Côte d'Ivoire plantations, seedlings averaged 70-90 cm tall after three years (tallest 170 cm). Mature trees most commonly reach 4-15 metres, but on favourable sites can develop into substantial trees up to 20-25 metres tall with a clear bole of 5-11 metres and trunks up to 1.6 metres in diameter.
How much water does Black Plum need?
Vitex doniana prefers moist conditions and is naturally found along rivers and in wet localities. Annual rainfall of 750-2,000 mm is optimal, though the species tolerates 600-2,500 mm. It does not tolerate prolonged drought as well as many savanna trees but is far from aquatic.
What soil does Black Plum prefer?
The species grows on a wide range of well-drained soils — sandy, loamy or clay — but performs best on alluvial soils along watercourses. Optimum soil pH is 5.5-7, tolerating 5 to 7.5.
What temperature range does Black Plum tolerate?
Optimal daytime temperatures fall between 14 and 28 °C, with the species tolerating extremes from about 10 to 36 °C. It is a tropical and subtropical tree (USDA zones 10-12) and is not frost hardy.
How does Black Plum behave through the seasons?
The tree is deciduous in much of its range, dropping its leaves before flowering. Flowering occurs in the second half of the dry season or at the beginning of the rainy season, with fruit ripening in different months by region — August in Gabon, April-July in Tanzania and April-September in Zambia.
What are Black Plum flowers like?
Flowers appear at the end of the dry season or beginning of the rains, are highly fragrant in the typical Vitex pattern and are extremely attractive to bees; sunbirds also visit them for nectar. They are followed by purplish-black, fleshy drupes about 2-3 cm long.
Are there varieties or cultivars of Black Plum?
No infraspecific cultivars or varieties are widely recognised. Several historical names — Vitex cienkowskii, V. cuneata, V. divaricata and V. paludosa — are now treated as synonyms of V. doniana.
How do you grow Black Plum outdoors?
Outside its tropical African range, Vitex doniana can be grown outdoors only in frost-free climates (USDA zones 10-12). It needs full sun, well-drained soil with pH 5.5-7, and reliable summer rainfall or irrigation in the 750-2,000 mm range.
How should Black Plum be pruned?
The species responds productively to coppicing, indicating it tolerates hard cutting back; this is also exploited as a propagation method via root suckers and stump regrowth.
How is Black Plum propagated?
Propagation is most commonly from seed, but the hard seed coat means germination is greatly improved by hot-water soaking, mechanical scarification or fire exposure. Trees also propagate readily from root suckers, coppice regrowth and cuttings.
What pests and diseases affect Black Plum?
The mealybug Rastrococcus invadens is documented as a pest of Vitex doniana. Sawdust from the wood may cause dermatitis in sensitive people.
How is Black Plum pollinated?
Vitex doniana is mainly insect-pollinated, with bees being the dominant visitors and honey-bees harvesting nectar from the fragrant flowers. Sunbirds also visit the blossoms and may contribute to pollination.
Is Black Plum edible and how is it eaten?
The tree is highly valued for food. The black, prune-like fruits are eaten raw or made into jam, syrup, juice, wine and alcoholic liquor; cooked young leaves and shoots are an esteemed vegetable; and the kernels inside the fruit stone are roasted as a coffee substitute. The pulp provides about 435 kJ per 100 g and is a good source of potassium and iron.
What are the medicinal uses of Black Plum?
Vitex doniana is a major medicinal plant in tropical Africa. Bark, root, leaf and fruit preparations are used traditionally for dysentery, diarrhoea, anaemia, jaundice, leprosy, fevers, respiratory disease, conjunctivitis, headaches and postpartum bleeding. Modern research has shown antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae and E. coli, plus hepatoprotective and hypotensive effects from stem-bark extracts.
What are other uses of Black Plum?
Beyond food and medicine, the medium-density wood is used for furniture, carving, boats, tool handles, light building and as firewood or charcoal. Boiling the leaves, bark, roots or fruits yields a black ink and dye, twigs serve as antimicrobial chewing sticks, and the seeds yield about 30% oil suitable for skin creams, resins and paint. Heavy crown shade, leaf-fall and reputed nitrogen-fixing roots make it useful in agroforestry.
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