Chaste Tree

VITEX AGNUS CASTUS

Did you know?  Is it true?  Does it really mean that? 

 Chaste tree.  I know.  It's true.  And it really means that.  Yerba Luisa is the name I knew when I lived in my little tropical island.   The tradition is that a new bride receives a plant started from a slip from the bush her mother-in-law received from her mother-in-law and so on and so forth.  Planted by the front or back door, the beauty of the flowers is testimony to the beauty of the marriage.  Get it?  Your tree'd better be looking good...  Wonderful fragrant pinnated leaves, flower spikes that look like sprinkles from heaven.  My Greek neighbor explained that in her hilly country women place branches under their mattresses so that their husbands don't wander.  Another matrimonial tradition half around the world.  Grab a handful of leaves early in the morning, crush them and rub the perfumed bunch on your arms and neck and you will be lucky for the rest of the day.  Don't ask, just do it.