{"slug":"ligustrum-japonicum","scientific_name":"Ligustrum japonicum","common_names":["Japanese privet","Japanese ligustrum","Waxleaf ligustrum","Wax-leaf privet"],"family":"Oleaceae","type":"broadleaf_evergreen","mature_height_m":4,"mature_spread_m":2,"growth_rate":"fast","lifespan_years":null,"hardiness_zones":[7,10],"sun":"full_partial","water":"low","soil":"Clay, loam, sand or rocky soils with good drainage; tolerates alkaline soil, drought and salt spray","native_range":"Japan and Korea; widely planted as a hedge across the southern US and naturalized in moist areas","description":"The common waxleaf hedge shrub of Texas subdivisions, a dense evergreen 6-12 feet tall (to 20 as a small tree) with thick glossy leaves, cream flowers in late spring and blue-black berries. Birds spread the seed into woodlands and creek corridors, where it joins glossy privet in forming shady thickets. Fruit and leaves are poisonous and the flowers have a smell many find offensive.","care":"Not recommended for new planting in Texas; several privet species are listed as invasive. If you keep an existing hedge, shear after flowering so berries never form. Remove unwanted plants by cutting and treating the stump; seedlings pull easily when small. Yaupon holly or dwarf yaupon makes a native evergreen hedge of similar size.","benefits":["birds","drought_tolerant"],"uses":[],"cautions":["invasive_elsewhere","toxic_parts","messy_fruit"],"image_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Ligustrum_japonicum_01.jpg","image_credit":"José Luis Gálvez, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons","sources":["https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/LIJA","https://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=LIJA","https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ligustrum-japonicum/"],"data_note":null,"updated_at":"2026-11-08T01:00:46.205Z","page_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/ligustrum-japonicum","markdown_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/ligustrum-japonicum.md","regions":[{"country":"JP","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":"Native to Japan and Korea","source_url":null},{"country":"US","region":"CA","locality":"Los Angeles","status":"recommended","note":"On the City Plants (Los Angeles) Street Tree Species List","source_url":"https://www.cityplants.org/street-tree-species-list/"},{"country":"US","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"invasive","note":"Texas Invasives reports it present in AL, AR, CA, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NY, OK, PR, SC, TN, TX and VA","source_url":"https://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=LIJA"},{"country":"US","region":"NC","locality":null,"status":"invasive","note":"Listed as invasive by the NC Invasive Plant Council (per NC State Extension Plant Toolbox)","source_url":"https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ligustrum-japonicum/"},{"country":"US","region":"TX","locality":null,"status":"invasive","note":"Listed in the Texas Invasives (texasinvasives.org) plant database. Texas Invasives says it is unclear how invasive this species is in Texas but advises extreme caution because related privets are serious problems. Not on the TDA noxious list.","source_url":"https://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=LIJA"}],"license":"CC-BY-4.0"}