{"slug":"ligustrum-lucidum","scientific_name":"Ligustrum lucidum","common_names":["Glossy privet","Tree privet","Waxleaf ligustrum (misapplied)","Ligustrum"],"family":"Oleaceae","type":"broadleaf_evergreen","mature_height_m":10,"mature_spread_m":8,"growth_rate":"fast","lifespan_years":null,"hardiness_zones":[7,10],"sun":"full_partial","water":"low","soil":"Any well-drained soil; tolerates alkaline, dry and occasionally wet sites","native_range":"China, Japan and Korea; introduced as a hedge and street tree and naturalized across the southern US","description":"A fast evergreen shrub or small tree (25-40 feet) with glossy dark leaves, panicles of heavy-scented cream flowers in late spring and masses of blue-black berries that birds carry into every greenbelt and creek bottom in Austin, where it forms dense evergreen thickets that shade out everything beneath. Leaves and berries are poisonous, and the flowers' smell and pollen bother many people.","care":"Do not plant; it is one of the most common woody invaders of Central Texas natural areas. Remove existing plants by cutting and treating stumps with herbicide (they resprout), and pull seedlings while small. If you keep a hedge, shear off flowers before berries form. Native evergreen replacements include yaupon holly, Texas mountain laurel and evergreen sumac.","benefits":["birds"],"uses":[],"cautions":["invasive_elsewhere","toxic_parts","allergenic_pollen","messy_fruit"],"image_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/FloweringLigustrumLucidumTree.jpg","image_credit":"Taken by Fanghong, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons","sources":["https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/LILU2","https://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=LILU2","https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ligustrum-lucidum/"],"data_note":null,"updated_at":"2026-11-08T01:00:46.205Z","page_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/ligustrum-lucidum","markdown_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/ligustrum-lucidum.md","regions":[{"country":"CN","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":"Native to China, Japan and Korea","source_url":null},{"country":"US","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"invasive","note":"Texas Invasives reports it present in AL, FL, GA, LA, MD, MS, NC and TX","source_url":"https://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=LILU2"},{"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-lucidum/"},{"country":"US","region":"TX","locality":null,"status":"invasive","note":"Listed in the Texas Invasives (texasinvasives.org) plant database. Has the potential to replace mid-canopy trees and dominate forest areas; spreads by bird-dispersed seed and root sprouts. Not on the TDA noxious list.","source_url":"https://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=LILU2"}],"license":"CC-BY-4.0"}