Chaste Berry (Utakku)
Vitex agnus-castus
About Chaste Berry (Utakku)
Chaste Berry (Utakku) (Vitex agnus-castus) is a herb used in the Ancient Babylonian Medicine tradition to help with Hormonal Imbalance, PMS, Menstrual Issues, and Fertility, among 1 other condition it addresses. The fruit / berries are the part traditionally used, taken internally.
Botanical background
Vitex agnus-castus, also called vitex, chaste tree, chasteberry, Abraham's balm, lilac chastetree, or monk's pepper, is a native of the Mediterranean region. It is one of the few temperate-zone species of Vitex, which is on the whole a genus of tropical and sub-tropical flowering plants. Theophrastus mentioned the shrub several times, as agnos (ฮฌฮณฮฝฮฟฯ) in Enquiry into Plants. It has been long believed to be an anaphrodisiac but its effectiveness remains controversial. This is a cross-pollinating...
Source: Wikipedia, via iNaturalist