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Ligustrum sinense
Also called Common Chinese Privet, Small Leaf Privet, Narrow Leaf Privet
Ligustrum sinense (Chinese privet; syn. L. villosum; in Mandarin: 杻; pinyin: chǒu) is a species of flowering plant in the family Oleaceae. This privet is native to China, Taiwan and Vietnam, and invasive in Réunion, the Andaman Islands, Norfolk Island, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and much of the eastern and southern United States (from Texas and Florida north to Kansas, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut). The name "Chinese privet" may also refer to Ligustrum lucidum.
It is cultivated as an ornamental plant and for hedges. Several cultivars have been selected, including the very floriferous 'Multiflorum', the variegated cultivar 'Variegatum', and the dwarf cultivar 'Wimbei' growing to 0.5 m and with leaves only 6 mm long.
It was introduced to North America to be used for hedges and landscaping where it has now escaped from cultivation and is listed as an invasive plant in southeastern states. It is estimated that Chinese privet now occupies over one million hectares of land across 12 states ranging from Virginia to Florida and west to Texas, with detrimental effects to biodiversity and forest health.
Ligustrum expansum · Ligustrum glomeratum · Japanese privet · Glossy privet · Ligustrum micranthum · Border privet · California privet · Ligustrum pricei · Waxyleaf privet · Wild privet · Wild Privet · Privet
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ligustrum sinense by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
