Ligustrum obtusifolium
Inflorescences
The broadleaf privet ( Ligustrum obtusifolium ) is a shrub from the family Oleaceae. Its distribution area is located in Japan, Korea and China. It is often used as an ornamental tree.
Description
The broadleaf privet is a deciduous, 0.5 to 3 meters high, breitwüchsiger shrub with finely hairy stems and arching branches protruding. The leaves have a 1 to 2 millimeters long, bald or hairy petiole. The leaf blade is simple, paper-like, 0.8 to 6 inches long and 0.4 to 2.5 cm wide, elliptic to oblong or oblong- obovate, acute or obtuse with wide wedge base. The upper leaf surface is dark green and glabrous, the lower surface is hairy on midrib or as a whole. There shall be three to five, rarely up to seven pairs of nerves.
The flowers are about 25 to 50 in more or less nodding, 1.5 to 4 cm long and 1.5 to 3 centimeters wide panicles, sitting in greater numbers of short side branches. The white single flowers are sitting or standing at 2 millimeters long stems. They have a about 1 to 2 millimeters wide chalice, a 5 to 10 millimeters wide corolla and corolla tube which reaches the 1.5 to 2.5 times the length of the corolla lobes. The stamens extend to the middle of the corolla lobes, the anthers are lanceolate and 2 to 3 millimeters long. The fruits are round to broadly elliptic, 5-8 mm long and 4-6 mm wide, black and slightly frosted berries. The species flowers from May to June and the fruits ripen from August to October.
The chromosome number is.
Distribution and ecology
The natural range is located in the temperate zone of Asia on the Japanese islands Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku, in the Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Shandong and Zhejiang and in Korea. The species grows in thickets and hedges at altitudes of 100 to 600 meters on dry to fresh, mildly acidic to strongly alkaline, sandy or clay- humus-rich, moderately fertile soil in full sun to partial shade. It is frost hardy.
Systematics and history of research
The broadleaf privet ( Ligustrum obtusifolium ) is a species of the genus privet ( Ligustrum ) in the family Oleaceae ( Oleaceae ), Tribe Oleeae. The species was first described by Philipp Franz von Siebold and Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini in 1846.
There are three subspecies:
- Ligustrum obtusifolium subsp. microphyllum ( Nakai ) PS Green: The subspecies is 0.5 to 1.5 meters tall shrubs with fine or weak fluffy hairy branches and 0.8 to 3 cm long and 0.4 to 1.3 cm wide leaf blades. The calyx is 1 to 2 mm wide, the corolla 7-8 millimeters. The corolla tube reaches approximately 2.5 times the length of the corolla lobes. The distribution area is located in Japan, Korea and the Chinese provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
- Ligustrum obtusifolium subsp. obtusifolium
- Ligustrum obtusifolium subsp. suave ( Kitagawa ) Kitagawa: The subspecies is 2 to 3 meters tall shrubs with weak long -haired fluff up fluff hairy branches and 1.5 to 6 cm and 0.5 to 2.5 centimeters wide leaf blades. The calyx is 1.5 to 2 millimeters wide, the corolla 5 to 10 millimeters. The corolla tube reaches about 1.5 - 2 times the length of the corolla lobes. The distribution area is located in the Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Shandong and Zhejiang.
Use
The broadleaf privet is often used because of its decorative flowers and the showy fruits as ornamental tree, whereas several varieties are distinguished.