![]() The good news: removing the ligustrum brings back the pollinators! 4. Two years after removing ligustrum from a forested area, they recorded 4-5 times more bee species, and 3 times as many butterfly species as areas still filled with ligustrum. A study by the US Forest Service showed the wildlife impact of removing ligustrum. You won’t see many pollinators in ligustrum filled forests. When privet takes over, pollinators disappear Once established in a wooded area, it crowds out most of the native plants in the understory and quickly changes the ecology of the area. Privet is an understory shrub (although some can get up to 50 ft. The trees quickly take over forested areas, forming monocultures Ligustrum escapes where it was planted when birds eat the fruit and distribute the seeds (Photo source: ) 2. While birds like Cedar Waxwings do eat the fruit, it is not worth the problems created by them dispersing the seeds. Ligustrum trees are easy to identify in the winter because they are teeming with clusters of black fruit. Ligustrum easily escapes cultivation when birds disperse its seeds It didn’t take long before I heard about its negative impact on natural areas only to discover I had some growing in my own yard. If there is a swear word among the Master Naturalist community, it is “ligustrum”! Admittedly, I had never heard of the plant before becoming a Texas Master Naturalist in 2020. Birds easily disperse the fruit seeds to areas outside of where it was planted. The fruit is also what makes this plant so problematic. This is when the plants are most easily identifiable. They are followed by dark purple to black fruit clusters (called drupes) from late fall through the winter. Large clusters of white flowers cover ligustrum in late spring and early summer (between April and June). Privet is often used for its glossy foliage and in landscaping to create dense hedges. Like other invasive plants, it grows in all soil types. It grows in full sun to partial shade and forms dense thickets, making it a popular landscaping shrub for hedges. Ligustrum (Privet) is a semi-evergreen shrub / small tree with dark green leaves that can reach up to 50 feet high. Let’s work together to stop this! What is Ligustrum? However, it is still being readily sold at nurseries throughout the country with other invasive species like nandina. (just ask my Master Naturalist friends who have spent endless volunteer hours trying to remove it!). Ligustrum is one of the most problematic invasive species we are dealing with today in the U.S. Case Study: Ligustrum Removal at the Headwaters Sanctuary.
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