Vitex cooperi

Native to Central America and Colombia, this tropical tree grows in humid forests and can reach about 100 feet tall. Its opposite leaves usually have three leaflets. Small blue to lilac flowers develop into round fruits that turn black when ripe. Bees and other insects visit the flowers. In Panama, it sheds its leaves during the dry season and replaces them when the rains begin. Its wood is used for construction, fence posts, tool handles and firewood. Photographed in Colombia.