Vitex trifolia L.

Etymology	Genus	An ancient name used by Pliny possibly for the Chaste Tree, Vitex agnus-castus
	Species	Leaf with three leaflets
Family		Lamiaceae
Synonyms		Poinciana regia Hook.
Common Names		Hand of Mary
Status		Native: Critically Endangered
Form		Shrub
Native Distribution		Temperate and tropical Asia, Australia, and Pacific Islands

Diagnostics

Vitex trifolia is a shrub commonly seen cultivated in gardens and occasionally growing wild. It can be identified from its trifoliate leaves, with their leaflets sessile (except for the mid leaflet which has a hardly noticeable stalk). The colour of the leaves ais smokey green on top, and white underneath.

Interesting Facts

The Hand of Mary has been recorded from Singapore as early as 1892 (Singapore Herbarium Online, 2012). It was described as a weed in gardens and villages at coastal areas (Keng et al., 1998).

References

Keng H, SC Chin & HTW Tan. (1998) The Concise Flora of Singapore. Volume II: Monocotyledons. Singapore University Press, Singapore. 215 pp.
Singapore Herbarium Online. (2012) Singapore Herbarium Online. Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford. http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk. Accessed on 14-Jun-2014.