Ligustrum vulgare

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Ligustrum vulgare
Wilde liguster (Ligustrum vulgare).jpg
Mature shrub in summer
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Oleaceae
Genus: Ligustrum
Species:
L. vulgare
Binomial name
Ligustrum vulgare
L.


Ligustrum vulgare (wild privet, also sometimes known as common privet or European privet) is a species of Ligustrum native to central and southern Europe, north Africa and southwestern Asia, from Ireland and southwestern Sweden south to Morocco, and east to Poland and northwestern Iran. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Description

Berries - Ligustrum vulgare - Berries -.jpg
Berries

It is a semi-evergreen or deciduous shrub, growing to 3 m (rarely up to 5 m) tall. The stems are stiff, erect, with grey-brown bark spotted with small brown lenticels. The leaves are borne in decussate opposite pairs, sub-shiny green, narrow oval to lanceolate, 2–6 cm long and 0.5–1.5 cm broad. The flowers are produced in mid-summer in panicles 3–6 cm long, each flower creamy-white, with a tubular base and a four-lobed corolla ('petals') 4–6 mm diameter. The flowers produce a strong, pungent fragrance that many people find unpleasant.[ citation needed ] The fruit is a small glossy black berry 6–8 mm diameter, containing one to four seeds. The berries are poisonous to humans but readily eaten by thrushes, which disperse the seeds in their droppings. [4] [5] [6]

Plants from the warmer parts of the range show a stronger tendency to be fully evergreen; these have sometimes been treated as a separate variety Ligustrum vulgare var. italicum (Mill.) Vahl, [5] but others do not regard it as distinct. [1]

Cultivation and uses

In the British Isles it is the only native privet, common in hedgerows and woodlands in southern England and Wales, especially in chalk areas; it is less common in northern England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, where it only occurs as an escapee from cultivation. [5] [7] [8]

The species was used for hedging in Elizabethan gardens in England, but was superseded by the more reliably evergreen introduction L. ovalifolium from Japan. [7]

A number of cultivars have been selected, including: [5]

Invasiveness

The species is listed as invasive as an introduced plant in Australia, [9] Canada, [10] New Zealand, [11] and the United States. [12] [13] It is also fully naturalised in Mexico's highlands [14] and Argentina. [15]

Etymology

Ligustrum means 'binder'. It was named by Pliny and Virgil. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Privet</span> Genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae

A privet is a flowering plant in the genus Ligustrum. The genus contains about 50 species of erect, deciduous or evergreen shrubs, sometimes forming small or medium-sized trees, native to Europe, north Africa, Asia, many introduced and naturalised in Australasia, where only one species, Ligustrum australianum, extends as a native into Queensland. Some species have become widely naturalized or invasive where introduced. Privet was originally the name for the European semi-evergreen shrub Ligustrum vulgare, and later also for the more reliably evergreen Ligustrum ovalifolium and its hybrid Ligustrum × ibolium used extensively for privacy hedging, though now the name is applied to all members of the genus. The generic name was applied by Pliny the Elder to L. vulgare. It is often suggested that the name privet is related to private, but the OED states that there is no evidence to support this.

<i>Prunus laurocerasus</i> Species of plant

Prunus laurocerasus, also known as cherry laurel, common laurel and sometimes English laurel in North America, is an evergreen species of cherry (Prunus), native to regions bordering the Black Sea in southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe, from Albania and Bulgaria east through Turkey to the Caucasus Mountains and northern Iran.

<i>Leucanthemum vulgare</i> Species of flowering plant

Leucanthemum vulgare, commonly known as the ox-eye daisy, oxeye daisy, dog daisy, marguerite and other common names, is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the temperate regions of Asia, and an introduced plant to North America, Australia and New Zealand.

<i>Ilex aquifolium</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Aquifoliaceae

Ilex aquifolium, the holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Aquifoliaceae, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia. It is regarded as the type species of the genus Ilex, which by association is also called "holly". It is an evergreen tree or shrub found, for example, in shady areas of forests of oak and in beech hedges. In the British Isles it is one of very few native hardwood evergreen trees. It has a great capacity to adapt to different conditions and is a pioneer species that repopulates the margins of forests or clearcuts.

<i>Ribes sanguineum</i> Species of flowering plant in the gooseberry family Grossulariaceae

Ribes sanguineum, the flowering currant, redflower currant, red-flowering currant, or red currant is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Grossulariaceae, native to the western United States and Canada.

<i>Viburnum lantana</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae

Viburnum lantana, the wayfarer or wayfaring tree, is a species of Viburnum, native to central, southern and western Europe, northwest Africa, and southwestern Asia. The vigorous deciduous European treelike shrub is common along waysides.

<i>Fraxinus angustifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Fraxinus angustifolia, the narrow-leaved ash, is a species of Fraxinus native to Central Europe and Southern Europe, Northwest Africa, and Southwest Asia.

<i>Ligustrum sinense</i> Species of plant

Ligustrum sinense is a species of privet native to China, Taiwan and Vietnam, and naturalized in Réunion, the Andaman Islands, Norfolk Island, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panamá and much of the eastern and southern United States. The name "Chinese privet" may also refer to Ligustrum lucidum.

<i>Ligustrum lucidum</i> Species of tree

Ligustrum lucidum, the broad-leaf privet, Chinese privet, glossy privet, tree privet or wax-leaf privet, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, native to the southern half of China and naturalized in many places. The name "Chinese privet" is also used for Ligustrum sinense.

<i>Ligustrum japonicum</i> Species of flowering plant

Ligustrum japonicum, known as wax-leaf privet or Japanese privet is a species of Ligustrum (privet) native to central and southern Japan and Korea. It is widely cultivated in other regions, and is naturalized in California and in the southeastern United States from Texas to Virginia.

<i>Ligustrum ovalifolium</i> Species of plant

Ligustrum ovalifolium, also known as Korean privet, California privet, garden privet, and oval-leaved privet, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae. The species is native to Japan and Korea.

<i>Pimelea spicata</i> Species of flowering plant

Pimelea spicata, commonly known as the spiked rice flower, is a flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a slender plant with white flowers and elliptic leaves.

Ligustrum pricei is a species of Ligustrum, native to China and Taiwan, where it occurs at 900–1700 m altitude.

<i>Ligustrum quihoui</i> Species of shrub

Ligustrum quihoui, or waxyleaf privet, is a shrub native to Korea and China. As with some other members of the genus, L. quihoui is cultivated as an ornamental in many places and has become naturalized and invasive in urban areas and scattered forested locales of the southeastern United States.

<i>Randia moorei</i> Species of plant

Randia moorei, commonly known as the spiny gardenia, is a rare Australian shrub growing in the far north eastern areas of the state of New South Wales and adjacent areas in Queensland. The habitat is subtropical rainforest north of Lismore.

<i>Ligustrum robustum</i> Species of shrub

Ligustrum robustum grows as a shrub or small tree up to 10 m (30 ft) tall though old specimens of more than a hundred years have been observed with a height of 15 m (50 ft). The fruit of the shrub is an ellipsoid berry, bluish-purple when fully ripe, 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in) × 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in).

<i>Rhamnus alaternus</i> Species of flowering plant

Rhamnus alaternus is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae, known by the common names Italian buckthorn or Mediterranean buckthorn. It is a hardy medium-sized evergreen shrub with fragrant flowers.

<i>Ardisia solanacea</i> Species of flowering plant

Ardisia solanacea, called shoebutton ardisia in English, is a species of the genus Ardisia in family Primulaceae.

Privets are any of a number of shrubs or trees in the genus Ligustrum, many of which are invasive. The genus contains about 50 species native to the Old World and Australasia. Many members of the genus are grown as ornamental plants in parts of the world.

<i>Berberis bealei</i> Species of shrub

Berberis bealei, also known as leatherleaf mahonia, Beale's barberry, or Oregon grape, is a species of evergreen shrub native to mainland China. The species has been regarded as the same species as Berberis japonica, native to Taiwan, but the two differ consistently in certain floral and leaf characters. Both species are widely cultivated in many countries as ornamentals. Berberis bealei has reportedly escaped cultivation and become established in the wild in scattered places in the south-eastern United States from Arkansas to Florida to Delaware.

References

  1. 1 2 Flora Europaea: Ligustrum vulgare
  2. "Ligustrum vulgare". Plants for a Future .
  3. "Ligustrum vulgare". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  4. 1 2 Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. ISBN   0-340-40170-2
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Bean, W. J. (1978). Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles vol. 2: 576–577. ISBN   0-7195-2256-0.
  6. Flora of Northwest Europe: Ligustrum vulgare [ permanent dead link ]
  7. 1 2 The Reader's Digest Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain p. 52.
  8. Flora of Northern Ireland: Ligustrum vulgare
  9. Potential Environmental Weeds in Australia
  10. Canadian Botanical Conservation Network: Information on Invasive Shrub and Vine Species Archived 2007-08-27 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Protecting and Restoring our Natural Heritage: Appendix one: Invasive weeds Archived 2015-01-28 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Swearingen, Jil; Reshetiloff, K.; Slattery, B; Zwicker, S. (2010). Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, 4th Edition (PDF). National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. p. 71.
  13. Invasive species: European privet
  14. Plantas medicinales. Virtudes insospechadas de plantas conocidas. 1987. Reader's Digest México S.A. de C.V. Printed by Gráficas Monte Albán S.A. de C.V. Querétaro, Mexico. ISBN   968-28-0099-4
  15. "Gavier-Pizarro, Gregorio I.; Kuemmerle, Tobias; Hoyos, Laura E.; Stewart, Susan I.; Huebner, Cynthia D.; Keuler, Nicholas S.; Radeloff, Volker C. 2012. Monitoring the invasion of an exotic tree (Ligustrum lucidum) from 1983 to 2006 with Landsat TM/ETM+ satellite data and support vector machines in Cordoba, Argentina. Remote Sensing of Environment. 122: 134-145". Archived from the original on 2020-10-31. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
  16. Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN   9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN   9780521685535 (paperback). p 237