Hammago / Beach Vitex

Vitex rotundifolia L. fil.

Vitex rotundifolia / roundleaf chastetree / beach vitex

When I first came across these creeping vines by the ocean, I was immediately drawn to their silvery green leaves, excited that I may have found something related to one of my favorite plants: the desert sage. I crushed some leaves, hoping to get a whiff of something I recognize…and it DID in fact have an aroma reminiscent of sage. Maybe a little eucalyptus? Definitely some camphene action in there. But it was a scent of its own.

It turns out, these ground crawling shrubs belong to the sage family Lamiaceae. They grow in huge colonies, carpeting what I imagine most of the coastline of Japan. They seem to THRIVE in the dry and salty, wind swept landscapes of the beaches. The entire plant is covered in tiny hairs that make them more resilient to harsh environments. In late summer, the tips of the runners blossom with purple flowers. In autumn they turn into clusters of silver-black berries. I bit into one of the hard little berries to discover that it tastes pretty intense and just like a juniper berry! Whaaat.

I don’t think most people are so familiar with this plant anymore, like most plant wisdom its been swept away by some mass amnesia it seems. Although a little digging showed that it has defineityl been a part of peoples lives in the past through folk medicine and other means.

The berries are called 蔓荊子mankeishi in traditional chinese medicine, they are boiled into tonics for colds and headaches.

The ritual of bathing is an important part of Japanese culture. Soaking in the onsen hot springs is a form of self-care practiced by most and considered ‘‘everyday peoples medicine’’. Herbal baths have been around since ancient times and hamago was commonly used. It is known to ease joint, muscle and bone pain, neuralgia, coldness and numbness of hands and feet.

In Japan, baths are ‘‘everyday peoples medicine’’ and important to

ing is considered part of the every day peoples medicine. Soaking in ‘‘onsen’’ hot springs is a form of self-care practiced by most. And so naturally, adding plants to the bath water is a common folk method here for taking in plant medicines.

In Japan, medicinal baths have been part of folk ways since ancient times. The hamago plant was used

, salty, dry and ever shifting landscape of these sandy beaches. The entire plant is covered in tiny hairs that make them resilient to their harsh environment. This plant grows voracisouly, the mother plant can send out runners that go for several meters long. Fragments of branches that break off, or seeds that get carried away in the waters, can easily start new patches. In the summer, purple flowers bloom on the tips of the runners.  In autumn, they are dotted with clusters of round silver-black berries. When cracking some of the tough little berries between my teeth, I discovered they taste intense - just like juniper berries! Whaaat.

I don’t think most people today would know what I am talking about, if I mentioned this plant. But after some digging around, I discovered that there is definitely a history of this plant being very much a part of people’s lives, through folk medicine and other means.

The berries are used as an ingredient in traditional chinese medicine and called ‘‘mankeishi’’. It is used to make tonics for colds and headaches.

Hamago is also said to relieve asthma, nasal congestion, ear aches, eye pain, inflammation and mastitis.

In Japanese culture, bathing is considered part of the every day peoples medicine. Soaking in ‘‘onsen’’ hot springs is a form of self-care practiced by most. And so naturally, adding plants to the bath water is a common folk method here for taking in plant medicines.

Hamago can be added to baths to relive joint, muscle and bone pain, neuralgia, skin irritations, coldness, numbness and more.

Vitex rotundifolia, the roundleaf chastetree, or beach vitex is a plant in the sage family Lamiaceae. It’s a shrub that carpets across most of the coastlines of Japan. It seems to THRIVE in the salty, dry and ever-shifting sandy substrate of these beaches.

I was first drawn to these vines because of their silvery green leaves, they reminded me of one of my favorite plants: the desert sagebrush.  I crushed some leaves, hoping to get a whiff that I might recognize…. and it DID in fact have a scent reminiscent of sage, maybe even a little eucalyptus?  Definitely some camphene in there. But at the same time, a scent entirely of its own.

The whole plant is covered in tiny little hairs, which apparently makes the plant more resilient to the harsh conditions of the seashore.  In the summer, purple flowers bloom on the tips of the vines.  In autumn, they are dotted with clusters of round silvery-black berries.  I crushed some of the hard seeds with my teeth and discovered they have an intense scent / flavor… similar to juniper berries!  Juniper berries of the sea! (turns out after some researching that there’s actually a company in Japan that makes ‘‘gin’’ from the berries).

I dont think most people today would know what I’m talking about, if I mentioned this plant to them. But it was definitely a plant that was woven into peoples lives in the past…

• In Japan, the berries have been long used as folk remedy for colds and headaches.  As well as asthma, congestion, eye pain, inflammation, mastitis and more.

• The plant can be added to baths to relieve joint, muscle and bone pain, neuralgia, rashes, coldness, numbness and more. In Japanese culture, baths are considered ‘‘the every day peoples medicine’’, so soaking in hot springs, or adding plants to home baths are common practice.

• Similar to other vitex species (like the Chastetree!), hamago is said to aid with maintaining healthy female hormone balance and regulating menstrual cycles. 

• The smoke of the leaves and stem can be used as insect repellent. 

• The powdered leaves combined with other plants (like the bark of the magnolia tree) can be used to make incense.

• In some of the Ryukyu islands, the berries have been used to poison fish, or turned into ash to be used for an indigo dyeing method specific to the region.

• The leaves and berries have such a thyme-oregano like flavor too that I have grounded up and used it as seasoning for fish and meat.