font settings and languages

Font Size: Large | Normal | Small
Font Face: Verdana | Geneva | Georgia
Languages:

Ligustrum vulgare

(European Privet)

Interesting Facts

[ Back to top ]

Common Names

[ Back to top ]

Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Afrikaans:

Gewone Liguster

Common Names in English:

Chinese Privet, Common Privet, European Privet, Golden Privet, Prim, Privet, Wild Privet

Common Names in French:

Raisin De Chien, Troène Vulgaire

Common Names in German:

Liguster

Common Names in Italian:

Agnesillo, Innamora, Licustro, Ligustro, Olivella

Common Names in Portuguese:

Alfena, Alfenheiro

Common Names in Romanian:

Lemn Câinesc, Lemn Cîinesc

Common Names in Russian:

Birjučina, бирючина

Common Names in Spanish:

Alagustre, Alheña, Alheña

Description

[ Back to top ]

Family Oleaceae

Trees or erect or scandent shrubs . Branches and branchlets lenticellate . Leaves opposite, rarely alternate or whorled , simple , trifoliolate , or pinnately compound , without stipules; venation pinnate or palmate. Inflorescences terminal or axillary , in cymes, panicles, racemes , umbels, or fascicles. Flowers actinomorphic , bisexual , rarely unisexual or polygamous and plants monoecious, dioecious, or polygamodioecious. Calyx 4(-16) -lobed or -parted, rarely absent. Corolla 4(-16) -lobed, sometimes almost free to base , rarely absent; lobes sometimes united in pairs at base or into a very short tube . Stamens 2(-4), inserted on corolla tube or hypogynous; anthers dehiscing longitudinally; pollen 3-colpate or 3-colporate. Ovary superior, 2-loculed; ovules 2 in each locule, sometimes 1 or numerous . Style 1 or absent; stigma 2-lobed or capitate. Fruit a drupe, berry, capsule, or samara. Seeds with straight embryo, with or without endosperm; radicle curved upward or downward.

About 28 genera and over 400 species: tropical , subtropical , and temperate regions of world, but mainly in Asia. China has 10 genera and 160 species (95 endemic) and is the center of diversity for the genera Forsythia, Syringa, Osmanthus, and Ligustrum.

Many genera are important economically: Fraxinus and Forsythia (medicinal, ornamental ) ; Jasminum, Osmanthus, and Syringa (spice, ornamental) ; Olea (oil ) ; and Fraxinus (timber) .[1]

Genus Ligustrum

Shrubs or small trees , deciduous or evergreen . Leaves opposite, simple , short petiolate ; leaf blade entire. Inflorescences terminal panicles of cymes, rarely lateral . Flowers bisexual , sessile or pedicellate . Calyx campanulate , truncate or 4-toothed, persistent . Corolla white, rotate, funnelform , or salverform , 4-lobed; lobes ca. as long as or shorter than corolla tube , valvate in bud. Stamens 2, inserted at mouth of corolla tube, included or exserted; anthers yellow or sometimes purple, oblong . Ovules 2 in each locule, pendulous. Style shorter than stamens; stigma 2-cleft. Fruit a berrylike drupe with membranous or papery endocarp, rarely drupaceous or loculicidal. Seeds 1-4; endosperm fleshy ; radicle short, upward.

About 45 species: Asia, Australia, Europe; 27 species in China. Ligustrum japonicum Thunberg and L. ovalifolium Hasskarl, native to Japan and S Korea, are widely cultivated in China. No material of L. matsudae Kanehira ex Shimizu & Kao and L. seisuiense Shimizu & Kao, both described from Taiwan, has been seen.[2]

Physical Description

ID Features: White fragrant flowers. Black fruit. Opposite leaf arrangement. Glossy entire leaves. Leaves have waxy appearance. Lenticels. Light brown bark.

Habit: A medium-sized, stout, multi-branched, deciduous shrub . • Growth Form: Multiple Stem • Shape and Orientation: Erect

Flowers: White, terminal panicles. Strong odor. Blooms in mid-June. 1" to 3" long. • Bloom Period: Mid SpringFlower Color: White • Flower Conspicuous: Yes

Seeds: Seed per Pound: 18600 • Seed Spread Rate: Slow • Seedling Vigor: Medium • Fruit: Black fruit. 0.33" drupe. Ripens in early September. Persists. • Fruit/Seed Abundance: Medium • Fruit/Seed Color: Black • Fruit/Seed Conspicuous: Yes • Cold Stratification Required: Yes

Foliage: Foliage Color: Green • Summer foliage: Simple , deciduous leaves. Opposite leaf arrangement . Lanceolate leaf shape . 1" to 2.5" long. Smooth leaf margins . Dark green leaf color. • Fall foliage: Leaves turn purplish. Not showy. • Foliage Porosity Summer: Dense • Foliage Porosity Winter: Moderate • Foliage Texture: Medium • Fall Conspicuous: No • Leaf Retention: No

Size/Age/Growth

Active Growth Period: Spring and Summer • Growth Rate: Rapid. • Mature Height (feet): 12.0 • Maximum Height at 20 Years (feet): 12 • Size: 12' to 15' tall, equal width . • Vegetative Spread Rate: None • Lifespan: Lifespan

Landscaping

Landscape Uses: Screen . Border . Hedge . Foundation planting . • Liabilities: Anthracnose twig blight . Canker . Powdery mildew . Leaf spot. Aphids, leaf miners, mites and whiteflies.

Habitat

Hardy to zone 4.

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,353 meters (0 to 7,720 feet).[3]

Biology

[ Back to top ]

Reproduction

Duration: PerennialCoppice Potential: Yes • Progagated by Bulbs: No • Propagated by Bare Root: Yes • Propagated by Container: Yes • Propagated by Corms: No • Propagated by Cuttings: Yes • Propagated by Seed: Yes • Propagated by Sod: No • Propagated by Sprigs: No • Propagated by Tubers: No • Fruit/Seed Period Begin: Summer • Fruit/Seed Period End: FallFruit/Seed Persistence: Yes

Growth

Culture: Transplants easily. Extremely adaptable. Full sun to partial shade. Prune after flowering.

Soil: Adapted to Medium Textured: Adapted to Medium Textured Soils • Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils: No • Anaerobic Tolerance: None • Salinity Tolerance: Low • CaCO3 Tolerance: Low • Minimum pH: 5.0 • Maximum pH: 7.5 • Fertility Requirement: Medium

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade. • Shade Tolerance: Intermediate

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: Medium • Minimum Precipitation: 18 • Maximum Precipitation: 50 • Moisture Use: Medium

Temperature: Minimum Temperature (F): -38 • Minimum Frost Free Days: 130 • Cold Hardiness: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b. (map)

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Place of publication : Sp. pl. 1:7. 1753

Name verified on 24-May-1995 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 24-May-1995

Similar Species

[ Back to top ]

Members of the genus Ligustrum

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 304 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

L. acuminatum · L. acutissimum · L. acutissimum var. glabrum · L. album · L. amamianum · L. amamianum var. rotundifolium · L. amurense (Amur North River Privet) · L. amurensis (Amur River Privet Hedge) · L. angustifolium · L. angustum · L. argyi · L. astralianum · L. australianum · L. australlanum · L. bodinieri · L. brachystachium · L. brachystachyum · L. bracteolatum · L. caeruleum · L. californicum · L. calleryanum · L. candolleanum · L. ceylanicum · L. chenaultii · L. chinense · L. ciliatum · L. compactum · L. compactum var. velutinum · L. confusum · L. coriaceum · L. coryanum · L. cotinifolium · L. cumingianum · L. decaisnei · L. deciduum · L. decipiens · L. delavayanum (Chinese Privet) · L. delavayanum morrisonense · L. esquirolii · L. expansum · L. foliosum · L. formosanum · L. fortunei · L. gamblei · L. glabrinerve · L. glabrum · L. glomeratum · L. gracile · L. groffiae · L. gyirongense · L. henryi · L. hisauchii · L. hookeri · L. ibolium · L. ibota · L. indicum · L. insulare · L. insulense · L. ionandrum · L. italicum · L. iwaki · L. japonica (Japanese Privet) · L. japonica var. Korean Choice · L. japonicium · L. japonicum (Japanese Wax-Leaf Privet) · L. japonicum 'Aureum' · L. japonicum 'Coriaceum' · L. japonicum 'Coriaceum Aureum' · L. japonicum f. pubescens (Japanese Wax-Leaf Privet) · L. japonicum f. rotundifolium · L. japonicum Green Century = 'Melgreen' · L. japonicum 'Jack Frost' (Jack Frost Privet) · L. japonicum 'Korean Choice' (Korean Choice Privet) · L. japonicum 'Macrophyllum' · L. japonicum 'Melgreen' · L. japonicum 'Nobilis' (Noble Privet) · L. japonicum 'Recurvifolium' (Curled-Leaf Privet) · L. japonicum Thunb. 'Revolutum' · L. japonicum 'Rotundifolium' · L. japonicum 'Silver Star' · L. japonicum 'Texanum' (Waxleaf Privet) · L. japonicum 'Texanum Argenteum' · L. japonicum var. pricei · L. japonicum var. rotundifolium (Japanese Privet) · L. japonicum 'Variegatum' · L. japonicum Thunb. 'Variegatum' (Variegated Privet) · L. kellerianum · L. kellermanni · L. kellermannii · L. kiyozumianum · L. 'Korean Dwarf' · L. kumaonense · L. lanceolatum · L. lancifolium · L. latifolium · L. laurifolium · L. leucanthum · L. lianum · L. lindleyi · L. lineare

More Info

[ Back to top ]

Further Reading

[ Back to top ]

Notes

[ Back to top ]

Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 11, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Mei-chen Chang, Lien-ching Chiu, Zhi Wei & Peter S. Green "Oleaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 15 Page 272. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Ligustrum". in Flora of China Vol. 15 Page 299. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Mean = 103.660 meters (340.092 feet), Standard Deviation = 135.380 based on 12,880 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/1/2009