Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ligustrum sinense
FAMILY
Oleaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Chinese Privet at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ligustrum sinense
FAMILY
Oleaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 153-05-004:
Ligustrum sinense FAMILY Oleaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ligustrum sinense
COMMON NAME:
Chinese Privet, "privy hedge"
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_lisi_012_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm0401e_06
January Greenville County SC
)
Roxanna Martin rlm42911_251
April Spartanburg County SC
Stamens extend from the four-lobed corolla, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).
)
Roxanna Martin rlm5211_40
April Spartanburg County SC
)
Gill Newberry gn05_l_sinense_at_road_ed
May
Often forms dense stands, to the detriment of native understory vegetation, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm080515_036
May Greenville County SC
Parking lot
Thicket-forming shrubs to 30' in height, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).
)
JK Marlow jkm190508_8240
May Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm210513_0311
May Oconee County SC
Boone's Creek Preserve
Panicles terminal, many on short lateral branches, pedunculate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm210513_0311b
May Oconee County SC
Boone's Creek Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm130709_408
July Greenville County SC
Colonizing by root sprouts & spread widely by bird & animal dispersed seeds, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_082521blairsville101
August Union County GA
Meeks Park Disc Golf Course
Leaves ovate to elliptic, opposite in 2 rows at nearly right angles to the stem, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).
)
Gill Newberry gn09_l_sinense_privet
September
)
JK Marlow jkm201022_7894
October Greenville County SC
"I would rank it a noxious weed, esp in southern states", says Michael Dirr, per Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (Dirr, 1975+).
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JK Marlow jkm151113_762
November McCormick County SC
Sumter National Forest: Edgefield Ranger District
It thrives in heavy shade and full sun and forms impenetrable thickets, per Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (Dirr, 1975+).
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JK Marlow jkm071208_008
December Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
One of the most noxious of our weeds, choking out native vegetation, per Weakley's Flora.
)
Roxanna Martin rlm12510_24
December Spartanburg County SC
Dense ovoid drupes hanging or projecting outward, containing 1-4 seeds, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ligustrum sinense
FAMILY
Oleaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ligustrum sinense
FAMILY
Oleaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 153-05-004:
Ligustrum sinense
FAMILY
Oleaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ligustrum sinense
831
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Habitat: Moist forests, especially alluvial bottomlands, and also in a wide range of other forests, woodlands, glade edges, etc, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: China
Common
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Forest Health Assessment & Applied Sciences Team: New Invaders of the Northeast
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- NC Botanical Garden
- NC Department of Transportation
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- SC Native Plant Society
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
- US Fish & Wildlife Service
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014
LEAVES:
Semi-evergreen
Simple
Opposite, or rarely alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White/Cream
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
4-merous
Synsepalous calyx, lobes minute
4-lobed campanulate corolla
2 stamens
Superior ovary
Inflorescence a many-flowered terminal panicle
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Blue
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p360
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p407
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p086
- A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010) p034
- Invasive Exotic Plants of North Carolina (Smith, 2008) p020
- New Invaders of the Northeast and Northcentral US (Rawlins et al., 2018) p069
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p120
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p350
- Guide to the Plants of Granite Outcrops (Murdy & Carter, 2000) p33
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p143
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p097
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p19
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p292
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p192
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p245