Ligustrum vulgare

Ligustrum vulgare
Mature shrub in summer
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	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 southern England and southwestern Sweden south to Morocco, and east to Poland and northwestern Iran.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

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, sweet fragrance that many people find unpleasant. 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 south 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]

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 escape from cultivation.^[5][7][8]

Cultivation and uses

The species was used for hedging in Elizabethan gardens, but after the introduction of the Japanese Ligustrum ovalifolium (Oval-leaved Privet) to Europe, it soon lost out in popularity to the newcomer, because although both are technically semi-evergreen, the Oval-leaved Privet keeps its leaves better in winter.^[7]

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

• Ligustrum vulgare 'Aureum' – yellow leaves.
• Ligustrum vulgare 'Buxifolium' – small, oval leaves not over 2.5 cm long.
• Ligustrum vulgare 'Cheyenne' – cold-tolerant clone selected in North America.
• Ligustrum vulgare 'Chlorocarpum' - berries green.
• Ligustrum vulgare 'Insulense' – long, narrow leaves 5-11 cm long and 1-2.5 cm broad.
• Ligustrum vulgare 'Leucocarpum' – berries greenish-white.
• Ligustrum vulgare 'Lodense' – dense, dwarf shrub (the name is a portmanteau of 'low' and 'dense').
• Ligustrum vulgare 'Pyramidale' – fastigiate.
• Ligustrum vulgare 'Xanthocarpum' – berries yellow.

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^{[citation needed]}.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Flora Europaea: Ligustrum vulgare
2. ^ Plants for a Future: Ligustrum vulgare
3. ^ Germplasm Resources Information Network: Ligustrum vulgare
4. ^ ^{a b} Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. ISBN 0-340-40170-2
5. ^ ^{a b c d e} 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
7. ^ ^{a b} 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: Appendix C
10. ^ Canadian Botanical Conservation Network: Information on Invasive Shrub and Vine Species
11. ^ Protecting and Restoring our Natural Heritage: Appendix one: Invasive weeds
12. ^ Swearingen, Jil; Reshetiloff, K.; Slattery, B; Zwicker, S. (2010). Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, 4th Edition. National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. p. 71. http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/midatlantic.pdf. 
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