Local Plants: Hamago (Beach Vitex; Vitex rotundifolia)
This deciduous (seasonally shedding) shrub grows mainly on sandy beaches. Its standing branches reach between 30 centimeters and 1 meter in length, and the stalk extends straight down into the sand with roots fanning out around it. The oval-shaped leaves are entirely smooth-edged. Through August and September, abundant light-blue flowers bloom at the ends of its branches. Hamago bears spherical fruit that turn a blackish-brown when ripe; like those of its relative the chasteberry in the West, these are used as an ingredient in herbal medicines for the common cold.