Chinese Privet

Description:

A member of the olive family (Oleaceae), Chinese privet is a shrub which can grow to twelve feet in height. Leaves are oval or elliptical, two inches long, and opposite. Chinese privet is distinguished from other privets by the presence of fine hairs on the twigs and underside of leaves. Small, white, four-petaled flowers grow in panicles at the ends of branches. The fleshy blue fruits, less than a quarter-inch in diameter, contain a hard seed.

Habitat:

Wichita Forest Park is leased from the U.S. Army corps of Engineers, and is located on the south side of Highland Village Road. This 24 acre natural resource area park serves as a passive, wildlife area. It remains in a native state, and it is the habitat for various species of flora and fauna. There are natural surface trails throughout this site that allow citizens the ability to access and enjoy the benefits of this nature preserve.

Notes:

Aggressive and troublesome invasives, often forming dense thickets, particularly in bottom-land forests and along fencerows, thus gaining access to forests, fields, and right-of-ways. Shade tolerant. Colonize by root sprouts and spread widely by abundant bird- and other animal-dispersed seeds. Chinese privet can dominate the shrub layer of an invaded habitat, thus altering species composition and natural community structure by choking out native plant species. It shades out all herbaceous plants.