Vitex obovata (SA tree List No. 661) is a small leafy tree of the South African east coast and north-eastern inland region. It grows in a variety of habitats including coastal scrub, riverine bush, wooded hillsides, grassland and rocky slopes. The bark is grey or brown, rough and fissured.  Young stems are hairy.

The flowers have small white or mauve bell-shaped corollas positioned in notable calyx cups. The flowers grow during spring in dense clusters in the upper leaf axils of young stems. The fruit is a small obovate black drupe with a sharp tip, a left-over from the flower's style.  Fruits are partly enclosed in the calyx remains (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002).