Ligustrum vulgare
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.jpg/240px-Wilde_liguster_(Ligustrum_vulgare).jpg) Mature shrub in summer
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| 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]
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.[6][4][5]
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.[7][8][5]
[edit] 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 Britain, 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 '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.
The species is listed as invasive as an introduced plant in Australia,[9] Canada,[10] New Zealand,[11] and the United States.[12]. Is also fully naturalised in suburban areas of Mexico and Argentina[citation needed].
[edit] References
- ^ a b Flora Europaea: Ligustrum vulgare
- ^ Plants for a Future: Ligustrum vulgare
- ^ Germplasm Resources Information Network: Ligustrum vulgare
- ^ a b Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. ISBN 0-340-40170-2
- ^ 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.
- ^ Flora of Northwest Europe: Ligustrum vulgare
- ^ a b The Reader's Digest Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain p.52.
- ^ Flora of Northern Ireland: Ligustrum vulgare
- ^ Potential Environmental Weeds in Australia: Appendix C
- ^ Canadian Botanical Conservation Network: Information on Invasive Shrub and Vine Species
- ^ Protecting and Restoring our Natural Heritage: Appendix one: Invasive weeds
- ^ Invasive species: European privet
