EUROPEAN PRIVET [Ligustrum vulare L.] LIVU

Fig. 1 UGA 5369085 Problem: Native to Europe, L. vulgare. was brought to North America as an ornamental in the 1700’s.1 It escaped cultivation and displaces native species by forming dense thickets.2 Habit: Stout, multi-stem trunk growing up to 4.5 m tall with unevenly spreading branches.3 Often as wide as tall.4 Stems and leaves at near right angles.5 Reproduction: Sexually by seeds from drupes which are widely disseminated by birds.4 Leaves: Simple, opposite, ovate to elliptic, margins entire. Lustrous green above and pale green beneath, turning purple in the fall. 2.5-7 cm long.2, 4

Fig. 2 UGA 5272067 SHRUBPLANT EUROPEAN PRIVET Ligustrum vulgare L.

Fig. 3 UGA 5397688 Fruits/Seeds: Lustrous4 dark purple to black, spherical, about 8.5mm long drupe.3 Flowers: Arranged in a terminal 2.5-7.5 cm panicle.2 Individual flowers small (2.5-3 mm)6 are tubular with four lobes that are equal or less than the length of the tube. Sta- mens are mostly included or slightly projecting from tube.6 Flowers are white, with a strong scent.2 Habitat: Full sun or partial shade.4 Often found in areas of disturbed soil, along streams, and in the forest understory (though it does not produce seed in low light).1, 3 Similar Species: Ligustrum species are difficult to distin- guish vegetatively. L. obtusifolium has a flower tube about twice as long its the lobesGC and its leaves are smaller, blunt-tipped, and have a pubescent mid-rib.7

Fig. 4 UGA 5272068 Ligustrum vulgare (European privet) Text Citations: 1. Forest Health Staff. 2006. Privets. Invasive Species Profiles. USDA Forest Service: Newtown Square, PA. URL: http://www.fs.fed.us/invasivespecies/speciespro- files/documents/privets.pdf 2. Pagad, Shyama ed.. 2007. Ligustrum vulgare (shrub). Global Invasive Species Database. URL: http:// www.invasivespecies.net/database/species/ecology. asp?si=1172&fr=1&sts=&lang=EN 3. 2009. European Privet: Ligustrum vulgare,.Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States. URL: http://www. invasive.org/weedus/subject.html?sub=3036 4. Pirvet: Ligustrum vulgare. Invasive Plant Species Factsheets. Michigan State University Extension. URL: http://web4.canr.msu.edu/mnfi/education/ factsheets/Ligustrum_vulgare.pdf 5. Miller, James H. 2003. Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests: A Field Guide for Identification and Control. USDA Forest Service: Southern Research Station, Ashville, NC. 6. Gleason, H. A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, 2nd ed. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY. 7. Forest Health Staff. 2006. Weed of the Week: Border Privet. USDA Forest Service: Newtown Square, PA. URL: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/invasive_plants/ weeds/border_privet.pdf Photograph Information: Figure 1 and 3 (photographer: Robert Vidéki, Doronicum Kft.) Figure 2 and 4 (photographer: Lelie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut) Photographs reproduced from www.bugwood.org.