Privet

Botanical name: Ligustrum spp.

Description

There are several species of Privet that can be identified as a broad-leafed evergreen shrub or small tree to the height of 4 to 10 m. The leaves are dark green and glossy and have a distinct mid-vein. Privet flowers are tiny and distinctively fragrant in branched clusters and are white in colour. The berries when they form are 9 mm in length and 12 mm wide, and mature from green to bluish black in colour. Privet can become a serious environmental weed. If dense stands of privet form they become very difficult to control as they compete with other vegetation for establishment and survival.