Privet

Wild privet, also sometimes known as common privet or European privet (Ligustrum vulgare)

A privet is a flowering plant in the genus Ligustrum. The genus contains about 50 species of erect, deciduous or evergreen shrubs or trees,Template:R with a native distribution from Europe to tropical and subtropical Asia, and with one species each native to Australia and north Africa.<ref name="RFK">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="APD">Template:Cite web</ref> Some species have become widely naturalized or invasive where introduced. Privet was originally the name for the European semi-evergreen shrub Ligustrum vulgare, and later also for the more reliably evergreen Ligustrum ovalifolium and its hybrid Ligustrum × ibolium used extensively for privacy hedging, though now the name is applied to all members of the genus.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The generic name was applied by Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) to L. vulgare.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It is often suggested that the name privet is related to private, but the Oxford English Dictionary states that there is no evidence to support this.<ref>Template:Cite OED</ref>

Description

Privet is a group of shrubs and small trees of southern and eastern Asia, from the Himalayas extending into Australia. They may be evergreen or deciduous, and are tolerant of different soil types. They often have conspicuous heads of white flowers<ref name='Hilliers'>Template:Cite book</ref> followed by black berries.

Uses and cultivation

In addition to being cultivated to create ornamental hedges and foliage, privet is also widely used in horticulture and flower arrangements.<ref name="Urbatch">Template:Cite web</ref> The oval leaf privet Ligustrum ovalifolium is used for hedges, while its flexible twigs are sometimes used as cords for lashing.<ref name="Urbatch" /> The tree species, especially Chinese privet is frequently used as a street tree in Europe, while other species including Ligustrum japonicum and Ligustrum quihoui are among the others also sometimes used as ornamental plants in gardens.<ref name="EGF">Template:Cite book</ref> Privet became very popular in Britain as a replacement for ornamental railings around properties, which had been lost to the 1941 U.K. government's requisitioning of, with few exceptions, all post-1850 iron gates and railings for the war effort.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The government had the intention of melting down the donated metal for use in the manufacture of armaments in WWII, although it is not certain how much of the metal was actually used.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The remaining stubs of sawn-off railings can still be seen on many garden walls in the UK, often partly obscured by privet bushes.

Chinese privet is used in traditional herbal medicine.<ref name="Nature’s Medicine 2006">Template:Cite book</ref> The decoction of privet leaves or bark helps to treat diarrhea, stomach ulcers, chronic bowel problems, chapped lips, sore mouths and throats, and a wash for skin problems.<ref name="Nature’s Medicine 2006" /> Privet leaves and bark have bitter properties that make a useful tea for improving appetite and digestion in chemotherapy patients.<ref name="Nature’s Medicine 2006" /> Kuding is a Chinese tea made from either a Ligustrum or Ilex species.

Some species produce a fruit, which is mildly toxic to humans.<ref name="Urbatch" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Symptoms from eating privet fruit include nausea, headache, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, low blood pressure, and low body temperature.<ref name="Urbatch" /> At least some privet species are known to be toxic to horses.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ecology

A plant may produce thousands of fruits, most of which are eaten by birds. Privet is used as a food plant by the larvae of some moth species including the common emerald, common marbled carpet, copper underwing, engrailed, mottled beauty, scalloped hazel, small angle shades, v-pug, privet hawk moth and willow beauty.

Invasiveness

Template:Main Privet is a successful invasive species because of its ability to outcompete and therefore displace native vegetation, due to its adaptability. Various species are now a problem in North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Species

Template:As of Plants of the World Online lists 46 accepted species of Ligustrum.<ref name="POWO">Template:Cite POWO</ref>