Ligustrum vulgare, L.

Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A., 1972, Flora Europaea. Volume 3. Diapensiacea to Myoporaceae, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press : 54-55

1. L. vulgare L. , Sp. Pl. 7 (1753) .

Shrub 1—3(—5) m, with slender, patent branches and smooth grey bark. Young twigs puberulent, brownish. Leaves 3-6 x 1-2 cm, lanceolate, thin, deciduous or semi-evergreen. Panicles 3-6 cm, puberulent. Flowers fragrant; corolla-tube as long as limb; limb 4-6 mm in diameter; stamens with slightly exserted filaments and oblong anthers shorter than corolla-lobes. Berry 6-8 mm, subglobose or ovoid, lustrous black. 2« = 46. Wood-margins and scrub; somewhat calcicole. S., W. & C. Europe, northwards to c. 59° N. and extending eastwards to C. Ukraine; also in a small region of S.E. Norway and S. W. Sweden. Al Au Be Br Bu Cz Ga Ge Gr Hb He Ho Hs Hu It Ju Lu No Po Rm Rs (W, K) Si Su Tu [Az].

L. ovalifolium Hassk. , Cat. Horto Bogor. 119 (1844), from

Japan, which differs from 1 in its glabrous young twigs, broader,

usually more evergreen leaves, larger, glabrous panicles, and corolla-tube 2-3 times as long as the limb, is widely planted for hedges (often as a golden-leaved cultivar) and may be locally naturalized.

L. lucidum Aiton fil. in Aiton, Hort. Kew. ed. 2, 1: 19 (1810) ( L. japonicum auct. eur., non Thunb.), from China and Japan, is planted as a street-tree in S. Europe, and sometimes in hedges. It forms a small tree up to 10 m, with glabrous twigs, evergreen leaves 8-12 cm, panicles 12-20 cm, and a pruinose berry.