The plant is native to the Mediterranean region. Vitex, its name in Pliny the Elder, comes from the Latin vieo, meaning to weave or to tie, referring to the use of V. agnus-castus in basket making. Its specific name is similar to the word for "holy" in Greek and Latin; the small tree was considered sacred to the virgin goddess Hestia/Vesta. The most common names are "chaste tree," "vitex," and "monk's pepper."

Chasteberry is one of the few Vitex species in the temperate zone, as the genus as a whole is composed of tropical and subtropical flowering plants. It was long believed that this shrub was an anaphrodisiac, which gave rise to the name "chaste tree," but its effectiveness for this action remains unproven. The shrub was used for religious rituals in ancient Greece and among the Philistines in modern Palestine.

Vitex agnus-castus is widely cultivated in warm, temperate, and subtropical regions due to its fine-textured, aromatic foliage and attractive lavender flowers that bloom in late summer in cooler areas, attracting butterflies. It grows up to a height of 1–5 m (3–16 feet). The plant requires full sun, although it tolerates partial shade, along with well-drained soil. Under ideal conditions, the plant is hardy down to −23 

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 C (USDA Zone 6). In colder regions, the plant tends to die back to the ground, but since it flowers on new wood, blooming is not affected by the vigorous growth in the following season. This plant is a brackish water inhabitant, indicating that it is salt tolerant. Cold and wet weather causes tip dieback and leaf loss. The plant grows well in loamy, neutral to alkaline soil.

• Form: A deciduous tree or shrub with an upright, open, and rounded habit.

• Leaves: Grayish-green with gray undersides, arranged in leaflets, and fragrant when crushed.

• Flowers: Fragrant, pink, lavender, or white, arranged in panicles up to 12 inches long.

• Fruit: Small, purple, and round seeds are present in the fall.

The plant can also be propagated vegetatively. One possibility is to use mature wood cuttings 5–8 cm (2–3 inches) long with a bud in July or August. Another way is to take mature wood cuttings in November and let them root in a cold frame. In vitro propagation using shoot or nodal explants is also possible.

It whitens teeth, prevents cancer, inflammation and allergies, treats acne, is an astringent, smooths the skin, and maintains eye and brain health.

Vitexin, apigenin flavone glycosides (also found in passionflower, bamboo leaves, pearl millet, and Hawthorn), Kaempferol, Quercetagetin, Casticin, Iridoid Agnuside, Aucubin, Alkaloid Vitricine, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, Fatty oils, Steroids, Viteagnusin G/F, Vitetrifolin D, Viteagnusin H, Limonidilactone, Negundoin E, and Vitrifolin B.