Vitex payos (Chocolate Berry)

The ripe fruit of Chocolate Berry is black, edible, sweet, somewhat resembling a prune in taste. Jam is made from the fruits. Fruits are tasty and extensively traded locally. Fruits are sold on local markets in Kebwizi and Embu districts of Kenya at about Kshs 150 (=US$ 2.1) per kg. According to informants in Kebwizi, annual fruit production per tree is about 50 kg. The tree is also used in traditional medicines (Teklehaimanot, 2005; FAO, 1983; Maundu et al. 1999; Mbabu and Wekesa, 2004).