Ligustrum quihoui Carriére, quihou’s privet. Shrub, ± winter–deciduous, many–stemmed at base, young twigs often opposite and principal branches somewhat spreading, in range to 350 cm tall; shoots with only cauline leaves, on spreading branches foliage tending to be 2–dimensional (plagiotropic), foliage essentially glabrous and axes short–tomentose.
Stems ± 4–sided aging cylindric, densely short–tomentose.
Leaves opposite to subopposite decussate, simple, short–petiolate, without stipules; petiole broadly channeled, to 2.5 mm long, with some short nonglandular hairs especially in channel; blade elliptic to lanceolate or oblanceolate, 10—36 × 4—11 mm, folded somewhat upward from midrib, tapered at base, entire to subentire on margins (minutely ciliated on developing blades), obtuse or blunt acute to rounded (slightly notched) at tip, pinnately veined with midrib sunken on upper surface and raised on lower surface, lateral veins fine and widely spaced, glabrous.
Inflorescence panicle of (1—)3—5–flowered cymes formed along paired lateral branches, < 150 mm long and somewhat 2–dimensional, lateral branches at base of panicle to 40 mm long and 50–flowered and sometimes with secondary branchlets, pairs of lateral branches to 7 decreasing in length upward and above having paired cymes at nodes approaching tip, along rachis of panicle having sessile, diminutive, leaflike bract subtending each branch, bracts lanceolate and to 10 mm long; rachis, branch, and branchlet axes 4–sided, ultimate axes finely 2–ridged on narrow faces, short–hairy; cymes on branches opposite, subopposite, and alternate along lateral branches; bract subtending cyme ovate, 2—3 × 1.5—1.8 mm, light green, minutely glandular–ciliate on margins, early–deciduous; bractlet subtending pedicel or flower keeled–ovate and 1/2–sheathing, 1.2—1.5 mm long, whitish; pedicels ± flattened, to 2.5 mm long, pale green, finely 2–ridged on narrow faces.
Flower bisexual, ± radial, 4 mm across; strongly fragrant; calyx 4–lobed, ca. 1.3 mm long, light green at base and colorless above, glabrous; tube sometimes slightly 4–ribbed, ± cup–shaped; lobes deltate to broadly triangular, to 0.3 mm long, minutely papillate on margins; corolla 4–lobed; tube–throat funnel–shaped, ca. 3 × 2 mm, white, expanded around ovary, glabrous; lobes spreading, ovate–triangular, 1.7—2.1 mm long, white, asymmetrically hooded to house sac of anther; stamens 2, attached just below corolla sinuses, exserted; filaments erect strongly bent approaching anther, ca. 2.5 mm long, white, glabrous; anthers positioned over corolla throat, dorsifixed, dithecal, 2—2.3 mm long, cream–colored to pale yellow; pollen cream–colored to pale yellow; pistil 1; ovary superior, subspheroid, 0.5 × 0.6 mm, green, glabrous, 2–chambered, each chamber with 2 ovules; style exserted, erect, cylindric, ca. 3 mm long, 2–branched, the stigmatic branches 0.5—0.65 mm long, aging pinkish orange, papillate and adherent.
Fruit drupe, weakly fleshy, with 2 stones, obovoid, 5.5—7.4 × 3.2—5.3 mm, deep purple, when dry surface dimpled and netlike; pulp thin; stones (endocarps) weakly fused, when separated lengthwise hemi–obovoid, 5—7 × 3—5 mm, aging and drying golden brown, having lengthwise midslit on flat face, each stone 1–seeded.
Seed hemi–ellipsoid, not filling chamber, ± ridged and wrinkled, every cell with collapsed center and outer rim.
A. C. Gibson