Plant Profile: Ligustrum vulgare

This is a deciduous shrub characterized by simple, opposite leaves that have smooth edges. Its flowers are small, white, tubular, and consist of four parts, arranged in clusters at the ends of branches. The fruit produced is a semi-fleshy black berry.

In North Carolina, the North Carolina Native Plant Society and NC State University's Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources classify it as invasive, labeling it a "Significant Threat." Conversely, the Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States does not recognize it as an invasive species in the state.