Chinese Privet berries

Description:

Purple berries on perennial shrub reaching up to 10 ft. A member of the olive family (Oleaceae), Chinese privet is a shrub which can grow to twelve feet in height. Stems tan to light brown in color. Leaves are oval or elliptical, two inches long, and opposite. Small, white, four-petaled flowers grow in panicles at the ends of branches. Clusters of green berries formed as fruit, turning purple in fall. The fleshy blue fruits, less than a quarter-inch in diameter, contain a hard seed. In winter, plants will often retain a few leaves and the purple berries are prominent. Chinese privet is distinguished from other privets by the presence of fine hairs on the twigs and underside of leaves.

Habitat:

Riparian woodland near edge of Lake Lewisville.

Notes:

Invasive weed species of forest edge, forest understory, and field/fence row edges. Widespread throughout the southeast. In dense stands, Chinese privet will often out compete all native species. 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. Thousands of acres have been invaded by Chinese privet.