Privet

TREES

GENUS/SPECIES

Ligustrum vulgare

FAMILY

Oleaceae

SYNONYMS

Common: Wild Privet, European Privet, Common Privet

DISTRIBUTION

Southeastern US

Central Florida northward to northern New Jersey
New Jersey southwestward to central Oklahoma
Oklahoma and E Texas eastward to Florida
Cultivated throughout warmer areas of US, including West Coast

Human Product Number - 135

Veterinary Product Number - 135

Comments

There are several species of privet that are cultivated as ornamentals, and some have become naturalized. It is usually a shrub but occasionally becomes a small tree. The small, waxy, entire leaves are opposite and generally evergreen. The strongly scented small white flowers are produced in panicles at the end of the twigs usually in spring and early summer, and they are attractive to bees. They eventually produce small, bluish-black fruit (less than a quarter inch in length) that are sometimes eaten by birds.