Ligustrum ovalifolium Hance, Oleaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Ligustrum medium Franch. & Sav.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: California privet, garden privet

French: troène des haies, troène du Japon

Japanese: oba-ibota

Spanish: aligustre japonés, ligustrino

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Upright shrub to c. 5 m high, glabrous except for inflorescence, evergreen except in coldest areas. Shoots glabrous. Petioles < 5 mm long. Lamina 3-7-(9) x 1.5-4 cm, ovate to elliptic, shining above; base cuneate; apex obtuse or acute, often mucronate. Panicles to c. 15 x 10 cm, dense, broad-pyramidal; branches ± puberulent, ridged; pedicels short. Flowers very fragrant. Bracts ovate or lanceolate; bracteoles 2, ± ovate, persisting after flowering. Calyx 1.5-2 mm long, glabrous, truncate or very shallowly lobed. Corolla white; tube 4.5-6 mm long; lobes 2-2.5 mm long, elliptic-ovate, acute, reflexed. Stamens exserted, = or slightly < length of corolla lobes; anthers yellow. Style included, 1/2-3/4 length of corolla tube. Fruit 5-7 mm in diameter, subglobose, purplish black. Seed c. 4 mm long, ± ellipsoid, ribbed on back"  (Webb et al., 1988; p. 879).

Habitat/ecology:  In New Zealand, "forest remnant margins, roadside banks, and waste places"  (Webb et al., 1988; p. 879).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Japan (Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku), South Korea; cultivated elsewhere (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (pp. 489, 535, 555) Voucher cited: Danton H(1562)1324. "En RC, es plantado en setos y en algunos jardines del pueblo de San Juan Bautista.  Algunos ejemplares se encuentran asilvestrados".
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1941) (voucher ID: BISH 586761) Taxon name on voucher: Ligustrum ovalifolium Hance
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1960) (voucher ID: BISH 10159) Taxon name on voucher: Ligustrum ovalifolium Hance

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Canada Canada	Canada (country)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011) Ontario
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 879)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank (2010) envahissant

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Invasiveness assessment from the Victoria Department of Primary Industries.
Impact assessment from the Victoria Department of Primary Industries.

Additional online information about Ligustrum ovalifolium is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Ligustrum ovalifolium as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Ligustrum ovalifolium may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1941. Voucher specimen #BISH586761(Marvin, G.E. s.n.).

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1960. Voucher specimen #BISH10159(Potter, C. s.n.).

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Oppenheimer, Hank. 2010. New Hawaiian plant records from Maui County for 2008. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2008. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 107:33-40.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.