Ligustrum lucidum W. T. Aiton, chinese privet. Tree, evergreen, several–trunked at base, in range < 10 m tall; shoots often 2–dimensional (plagiotropic) with tough leaves, glabrous and lacking appressed, umbrellalike (peltate) scales.
Stems cylindric but flaring below each node, tough becoming woody and stiff, having projecting leaf bases, lenticels on green stems lens–shaped along axis, 1—2 mm long, orangish, periderm light brown.
Leaves opposite decussate, simple, petiolate, without stipules; petiole channeled, (6—)10—16(—23) mm long, pale green, sometimes narrowly winged approaching blade and with constriction at base (abscission zone); blade ovate to broadly ovate or elliptic, (30—)65—145 × (16—)40—70(—80) mm, ± flat (scarcely folded upward from midrib), tapered to truncate at base, entire, acute (obtuse) at tip, pinnately veined with midrib slightly sunken on upper surface and raised on lower surface, upper surface glossy dark green and with 5—8 secondary (lateral) veins on each side of midrib, lower surface with minute speckles (crystals within tissue).
Inflorescence panicle of racemelike cymes, terminal, broadly ovoid in outline, 100—180 mm long having 8+ nodes along principal axis, many–flowered, with 3—4 orders of opposite decussate branching before ultimate flower cluster 1—3–flowered cyme, peduncle absent with pair of primary lateral branches at base or to 30 mm long, lower pair of primary branches to 100 mm long, ultimate branchlet mostly 2—5–flowered + undeveloped buds, flowers bisexual, subsessile, bracteate, completely glabrous; principal axes somewhat 4–sided or aging cylindric, the largest with lenticels; bracts subtending panicle = pair of cauline leaves, sometimes pair of branches at next node with reduced green leaves; primary lateral branches to 150 mm long, decreasing upward; bract or bractlet subtending each branchlet (2 per node), ovate to lanceolate, 2—2.5 mm long, thin aging orangish brown and papery, early–deciduous leaving a pair of curved scars; bract subtending 3–order branchlet ovate, 1—1.5 mm long, mostly absent at flowering; bractlet subtending flower ovate to awl–shaped, 0.4—1 mm long, early–deciduous; pedicel 0—1 mm long.
Flower bisexual, radial, 4—5.5 mm across (ascending stamens), sweetly fragrant, sometimes terminal 2 flowers on an ultimate branch fused; calyx inconspicuously 4–lobed to subentire; tube bell–shaped to cup–shaped, ± 1.5 mm long, light green, glabrous; corolla 4—5–lobed, in bud greenish white, 3.5—5 mm long; tube bell–shaped, 1 mm long, pure white; throat slightly flaring, to 1 mm long, creamy white; lobes usually subequal, reflexed, acute–ovate, 2.5—3 mm long, creamy white, thickish, initially spreading aging arching, faintly 3–veined, if unequally 5–lobed 1 lobe may be wide and deeply notched; stamens 2(—3), fused to top of corolla tube alternate corolla lobes beneath sinus; filaments initially 2.8—3.2 mm long and bent inward at tip increasing to 4 mm long and erect in old flower, white, tapered at tip; anthers dorsifixed, strongly dithecal, mostly hemispheroid with sac narrowly kidney–shaped, 2.1—3 × 1.8—2 mm, light yellow often with a wide connective initially green aging orange–red, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen light yellow, copious; pistil 1, ca. 4 mm long; ovary superior, top–shaped to inverted conic, 0.6—1 mm long, green, top shallowly 4–lobed (nectary) covered with thin nectar, 2–chambered, each chamber with 2 ovules; style erect, ca. 2 mm long, white; stigmas 2, exserted, ± appressed and together appearing compressed–ovoid and thickish, 0.8—1 mm long, white aging pinkish, papillate.
Fruit drupe, with 2–parted stone, ellipsoid, 8—8.5 × 5—5.5 mm, bluish black, minutely rough, not glaucous; pulp (mesocarp) to 1 mm thick; stone (endocarp) extremely hard, parts hemi–lanceoloid with common flat side, 6.2—6.8 × 2.5—3 mm, brown, 5–ribbed on rounded face.
A. C. Gibson & B. A. Prigge