Syn: wolf berries.

Common privet is a perennial shrub up to two meters high. IN folk medicine an infusion of branches, leaves, and berries of common privet is used as a hemostatic, antibacterial, and laxative. The medicinal properties of privet, such as cardiotonic and hypotensive, have also been identified.

The plant is poisonous!

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In medicine

The use of common privet in official medicine is not practiced; it is a non-pharmacopoeial plant. Common privet is used only in folk medicine.

Contraindications and side effects

All parts of the plant - trunks, branches, leaves, and especially privet berries - contain a certain group of plant alkaloids, which, if ingested, can cause severe poisoning. Privet poisoning is especially dangerous for people with poor health, children and pregnant women. Nursing mothers should also avoid taking common privet infusion orally.

Common privet should be used for medicinal purposes with great caution and only under the supervision of a doctor. The shrub is considered poisonous and has extensive contraindications. Common privet, its tincture and alcohol solution should not be used for hemophilia, thrombosis, varicose veins and hypotension. A decoction of bark and leaves is prohibited for constipation, and a decoction of berries is prohibited for diarrhea.

In production

Privet wood is very dense, heavy and hard, with a brownish-violet core. It is suitable for the production of pencils and turning products - thread spools, wooden spoons, dowels, etc.

At home

In Kakheti, common privet is used for coloring yellow wool, canvas, silk fabrics. The fact is that the fruits of privet, as well as its bark and wood, when heated in an aqueous solution, give a beautiful ocher color. This solution is used in handicraft production for tanning leather; it is used to highlight homemade yarn and home-woven products.

In gardening

Common privet is a beautiful fluffy bush with white paniculate inflorescences that emit a rather pleasant aroma. This plant is often used in landscaping summer cottages and decorating adjacent areas of apartment buildings. Common privet holds its shape well after being cut, adapts well to urban conditions, and is very hardy. The shrub tolerates temperatures down to -30 degrees, but prolonged frosts are fatal to it. More suitable for planting in southern cities. In northern settlements, privet should be covered during cold, snowless winters.

Common privet is often used in park compositions in which trees and shrubs are trimmed in the form correct forms- cubes, balls. The bush is lush, with closely spaced branches and trunks, which allows you to create a beautiful ball of the correct shape from it.

Classification

Common privet (lat. Ligustrum vulgare L.) is a species of shrubs from the genus Privet (lat. Ligustrum) of the olive family (lat. Oleaceae). The genus Privet (lat. Ligustrum) is quite large, it contains 40-50 species of shrubs and small trees, many of which are evergreen and semi-evergreen.

Botanical description

Common privet is a deciduous perennial shrub up to two meters high. Privet leaves are simple, spear-shaped, opposite, leathery, pointed. The top of the leaves is dark green, the bottom is lighter. The flowers are very fragrant, white, collected in petiolate paniculate inflorescences. Privet blooms in June - July. The fruits are round in shape, a shiny berry-shaped round drupe, black-brown, black-violet or light yellow and white in color. Collected in clusters, located closer to the top of the branches. Poisonous to people. The berries do not fall in the fall and remain on the bush until the end of January.

Common privet has more than 10 decorative forms: pyramidal (f. pyramidale), weeping (f. pendulum); bluish (f. glaucum) and bluish-white-edged (f. glaucum albo-marginatum) - by leaf color; evergreen (f. sempervirens), golden (f.aureum), golden-variegated (f. aureo-variegatum), yellowish (f. lutescens) - with a more intense color of flowers; silver-variegated (f. argento-marginatum) - by the color of the leaves and two forms by the color of the fruits - white-fruited and yellow-fruited (f. leucocarpa and f. xanthocarpa).

The young common privet bush grows very quickly, is drought-resistant, unpretentious, can grow on different types soil Loves soils with a high lime content.

Common privet reproduces using seeds, layering, root suckers, and cuttings. Quite often the plant is used as a rootstock for other types of privet, lilac, and olive.

Spreading

In nature, common privet is found in the south of Western Central Europe(in the territory former USSR in the southern and southwestern regions of Ukraine, northern Moldova, in the mountainous Crimea and the Caucasus), in the Mediterranean, including North Africa, northwestern Iran, Asia Minor.

The shrub lives in warm deciduous forests, oak and hornbeam groves, as well as in floodplain forests. Shade-tolerant xeromesophyte.

Regions of distribution on the map of Russia.

Procurement of raw materials

The green mass of common privet is harvested on warm, dry days. Dry the raw materials in a well-ventilated or ventilated area, turning the leaves and branches over from time to time. The fruits are collected after ripening and dried in the same way as leaves and wood raw materials. Store dried raw materials for no more than a year in tightly closed plastic containers.

Chemical composition

The bark of the common privet contains resins, phenols and their derivatives - syringoside, tannins. The leaves contain a lot of sugar, alkaloids, vitamin C, carotenoids, tannins 6-10%, flavonoids (rutin, 7-glucoside and 7-rutinoside of luteolin, 7-glucoside of apigenin, 7-rutinoside of apigenin). Found in flowers essential oil, the fruits contain anthocyanins: 3-glucoside and 3-rutinoside of cyanidin, 3-rutino-I zido-5-glucoside of malvidin, the seeds contain fatty oil.

Pharmacological properties

Despite the fact that common privet is not a pharmacopoeial plant and has no use in official medicine, thanks to the valuable substances included in its chemical composition, has some medicinal properties. Aqueous extracts, as well as an alcoholic extract of common privet, have hypotensive, cardiotonic and hemostatic effects.

It is known that there are results scientific research herbal preparations obtained from the leaves, fruits, flowers and bark of the common privet. Laboratory experiments on rats showed: the plant extract suppresses ribonuclease activity in the liver and pancreas of experimental rodents, exhibits antiviral, bactericidal, protistocidal, phytoncidal and bacteriostatic activity.

Use in folk medicine

Medicinal properties Common privet makes it a popular plant in folk medicine. In Azerbaijan, an infusion of privet leaves is recommended for cardiovascular diseases. An infusion of bark wine is used for pneumonia and chronic bronchitis, a decoction of dried leaves and inflorescences is used internally for uterine bleeding, hypovitaminosis, fever, as a rinse for laryngitis, pharyngitis, stomatitis, for other inflammations of the oral cavity, and also as an antiscorbutic agent. The beneficial properties of common privet make it possible to use a decoction of the bark and leaves for diarrhea and metrorrhagia.

Historical reference

Common privet is a fast-growing, unpretentious plant. It was used to decorate estates and parks back in the 18th and 19th centuries. Hedges and amusing labyrinths were built from privet. This is an excellent plant for those who want to master landscape design and practice topiary design.

Privet- an amazing plant that includes different subspecies. Belongs to the Oleaceae family.

This representative of the flora is an evergreen, deciduous tree or bush. They reach a height of 2-6 m. They grow very quickly. They have a beautiful spreading crown and elongated leaves of an emerald hue. The flowers are miniature and very fragrant.

Latin name of the plant: Ligustrum. It comes from the word “ligare” - to tie. This representative of the flora received such an amazing name due to the astringent properties of the bark.

Privet is distributed throughout Europe, Asia and the USA. The plant is planted in greenhouses and botanical gardens of China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Professional gardeners love Privet for its unpretentious cultivation and magnificent summer flowering.

Types of Privet

It is currently known about 50 different subspecies Privets. The most famous of them are Privet Aurea or Round-leaved, golden privet or Shiny, Privet Evergreen or Ordinary.

They differ in growth rates, height, and crown shape. Some of the plants are shrubs, others are small trees. All subspecies are endowed with leathery leaves, paniculate inflorescences and berry-like fruits.

Common Privet

(Ligustrum vulgare) is distributed in the Russian Federation, Moldova, Ukraine, China and Japan. It is a branched deciduous shrub. It can reach a height of 4-5 m. It has elongated oval leaves and miniature snow-white flowers. Very shade tolerant.

Important! Common Privet is the most winter-hardy species. This plant can easily grow in garden plots in the central region of the country. The plant can withstand temperature changes and harsh weather conditions.

See below: Common privet photo

Common privet

Japanese Privet

Japanese Privet(Ligustrum japonicum) is native to Korea and Japan. It is an evergreen shrub. Reaches a height of more than 2-4 m. It has a miniature graceful crown, elongated leaves of an emerald hue. It grows very slowly. Shade-tolerant and frost-resistant.

Privet Shiny

Privet Shiny(Ligustrum lucidum) is widespread in Asia. It is a small shade-tolerant tree. It has three decorative forms: tricolor tree, variegated-golden and bordered-golden. It has oblong emerald-gold leaves with rounded edges, reaching a length of 10-15 cm.

The panicles of the plant consist of miniature fragrant flowers of a snow-white hue. The length of the inflorescences reaches 15-18 cm. They bloom for 90-100 days. Distinctive feature from other subspecies is a low frost resistance. The plant dies at temperatures below minus 15°C. Therefore, the subspecies is grown as a cover crop in indoor greenhouses or botanical gardens.

Grow a tree in open ground Can only be used as an annual plant. To preserve the root system, it is necessary to use mulching. The plant lends itself perfectly to the formation of living sculptures. It is an excellent decoration for areas. Can be used as hedges.

Privet Shiny

Japanese Privet

Privet Quihou

Quihou subspecies(Ligustrum quihoui) is a gorgeous emerald colored shrub. Grows up to 2 m. Has an average growth rate. It has miniature hard leaves and large panicles reaching a length of 18-20 cm.

The panicles consist of miniature fragrant flowers. Flowering occurs in the second ten days of August. Only adult plants reaching 7 years of age bloom. The crown is spreading, reaching 160-200 cm. A distinctive feature of the subspecies is the slight pubescence of young stems. Also, pubescence can be observed on the lower leaf blade.

The growing season lasts from mid-spring to mid-autumn. This representative of the flora has an average winter hardiness. The birthplace of the plant is China. The plant grows in a province of China at an altitude of 2500 m above sea level.

Important! When propagating Privet Quihou, it is necessary to use spring or autumn cuttings. It is important that the planting material has time to take root. Summer cuttings root very poorly.

Privet Quihou

Privet roundifolia

Privet roundifolia also an evergreen shrub. It has beautiful emerald leaves that retain their color even in winter period. The flowers of the plant are miniature and very fragrant. They have a soft snow-white hue. Flowering occurs in July-August. During flowering, there is a a large number of insects that are attracted by the aroma of inflorescences. Moreover, the shrub is a honey plant.

This representative of the flora can actively grow on any type of soil. But to obtain abundant flowering, it is recommended to use black soil. The round-leaved subspecies does not tolerate strong drops in temperature. At a temperature of minus 15°C it freezes completely. Therefore, when growing shrubs in cold regions, it is necessary to use mulching. Experienced gardeners recommend growing this subspecies in closed greenhouses or greenhouses.

Privet roundifolia

Variegated Privet

Variegated Privet is a variety of the Chinese variety. It has elongated, pointed leaves with a gold edge. It will be filled with fragrant faded flowers of a snow-white hue. Blooms in mid-autumn. Formed into clusters. But it is worth considering that only adult plants that have reached 3 years of age bloom.

The subspecies loves plenty of sunlight. Tolerant to pollution and winds. Prefers moderate watering. It responds well to the application of mineral fertilizers. Thanks to fertilizers, the flowering period can increase, as well as the number of inflorescences. It is a fast growing plant.

It can reach a height of more than 2 m. This representative of the flora can be used as a hedge. The variegated subspecies is great for decorating a garden or plot.

Variegated Privet

Privet - beautiful ornamental plant. Has several varieties. It grows in garden plots, greenhouses and botanical gardens. Some species are successfully used for planting evergreen hedges. This representative of the flora is unpretentious in cultivation.

Withstands temperature changes and prolonged drought. It is a frost-resistant, shade-tolerant plant. Planting and care information about the plant is presented in detail on our website.

Useful video

Watch the video: Common privet review

Family: Olive (Oleaceae).

Homeland: Eastern Asia, southern Russia, Southern Europe, Northern Africa, Asia Minor and Australia.

Form: woody shrub.

Description

Deciduous or evergreen shrubs. The leaves are simple, oblong, leathery, dark green (in some species, edged or yellow). Privet flowers are white, fragrant, small; collected in paniculate or racemose inflorescences. Privet fruits are blue-black and ripen in September - October. Some types of privet grow up to 5 m (for example, common privet). Growing quickly.

(L. vulgare). Deciduous, densely branched shrub up to 5 m tall. It blooms in the first half of summer for 20-25 days. The fruits of common privet are shiny, berry-shaped, remain on the bushes until January, and are poisonous. Medium and slow growing species of privet. The leaves are annual or semi-evergreen. Common privet prefers any soil except very acidic peat substrates.

(L. ovalifolium). Evergreen tree up to 1 m tall (due to periodic freezing). Oval-leaved privet does not bloom. It blooms irregularly; the flowers of ovate-leaved privet are narrow and have an unpleasant odor. Winter hardiness is low.

(L. japonicum). The species is close to shiny privet. An evergreen shrub with a compact crown up to 4 m tall. Flowering is shorter than that of brilliant privet; Japanese privet grows more slowly than shiny privet, but it is more shade-tolerant and demanding of soil moisture.

Privet shiny (L. lucidum). A large evergreen shrub or a small tree, up to 6 m tall, with a spreading crown. The flowering of brilliant privet lasts about three months. The fruits are dark blue and small. Shiny privet is a shade-tolerant species, but requires fertile, moist soils. A fast-growing species of privet. Good haircut. A hedge made of shiny privet looks very impressive, as privet bushes retain their decorative properties for a long time.

Amur privet (L. amurense). Deciduous shrub with low winter hardiness. Amur privet requires shelter for the winter. Shiny privet is planted in a place protected from the winds. Black fruits with a waxy coating ripen in September - October.

Privet Ybota (L. ibota). Deciduous light-loving shrub. Ybota privet blooms in June-July, the fruits ripen at the end of September. Low winter hardiness, demanding soil conditions. Growing Ybota privet is possible on fertile, loose soils, in a place protected from the winds, with mandatory watering in dry times.

Privet Iezskaya (L. yezoense). Shade-tolerant winter-hardy shrub. The leaves are small and hard. Iezian privet blooms at the end of summer.

Privet Quihou (L. quihoui). Medium-growing shrub up to 2 m tall. It blooms in July, lightly, for 10-12 days.

Privet dense (L. compactum). Semi-evergreen, medium-growing shrub up to 4 m tall. Dense privet does not bloom. The winter hardiness of the species is low.

Sharp privet (L. acutissumum). Medium-growing shrub up to 3 m tall. It blooms in late June and early July for 12-16 days. The flowers are collected in short cylindrical inflorescences. The winter hardiness of acute privet is quite low.

Growing conditions

The privet plant grows well in sun or partial shade; soils, basically any garden soil, but not too acidic, moist. Privet is quite drought-resistant. Some types of privet need shelter for the winter (ovate-leaved privet, dense privet, acute privet, Ybota privet).

Application

Used in solitary (for curly haircuts), group and plantings, to create; Well decorates outbuildings, fences, walls. Well formed. It looks very impressive due to the high decorativeness of the plants. Winter-hardy privet species are used for hedges. Less winter-hardy species are planted in groups with other shrubs and perennials.

Care

Very unpretentious. In spring, the bushes are thinned out and diseased branches are removed. Privet hedges are trimmed in May and August. For the winter, it is advisable to cover or bend them to the ground, as they can freeze. (The most winter-hardy species - common privet and Iezian privet - are easily restored after freezing). Fertilizing is done in the spring every 2-3 years.

Reproduction

Privet is propagated (in summer or autumn) by seeds. Privet seeds and privet seedlings can be purchased at a garden center or ordered online.

Diseases and pests

Practically not affected; very rarely, privet moths or aphids may appear (in this case, spraying is carried out).

Popular varieties

Common privet varieties have become most popular

'Aureum'- a slow-growing, semi-evergreen, non-flowering variety of privet, no more than 1 m high. The color of the leaves is golden. Privet ‘Aureum’ often freezes.

‘Aureo-variegatum’- medium-growing non-flowering shrub. The leaves are golden-variegated. The height of this variety is about 1 m. Winter hardiness is low.

‘Glaucum Albo-marginatum’- leaves are bluish-green with a narrow bluish or white border.

'Vicari'- semi-evergreen shrub with a dense crown up to 1 m. This variety of common privet is grown in a place sheltered from the winds. The leaves are wide, oval, golden-yellow (bronze-purple in winter). Privet ‘Vicar’ blooms in mid-summer.

'Pyramidale'- pyramidal shape.

'Pendulum'- weeping form.

'Glaucum'- glaucous, white-edged leaves.

‘Glaucum albo-marginatum’- glaucous leaves with a white border.

‘Sempervirens’- evergreen shrub.

Latin name Ligustrum vulgare L.

Description

Deciduous or semi-evergreen shrub of common privet up to 4 m tall, with a dense dark green crown. The leaves are small, broadly lanceolate, leathery, the edge of the leaf is slightly tucked. The flowers are small, creamy-white, with an unpleasant aroma, collected in small pyramidal panicles, the fruits are black juicy drupes.
Winter-hardy (good), but sometimes suffers from spring frosts, drought-resistant (excellent), almost not damaged by diseases and pests (good). Blooms in early June, bears fruit in July, self-sows (excellent). Fast growing shrub, undemanding to soil fertility, salt tolerant. Dust and gas resistant.

Decorative common privet dense crown, leathery leaves, light inflorescences, when fruiting - black shiny drupes. Decorative durability 40–50 years.
It has long been widely known in culture, primarily in trimmed hedges. Suitable for free landscape single and group plantings in parks and squares. It tolerates simple and topiary haircuts well.

Privet pyramidal ( L. vulgare f. pyramidale Dipp.)

A very exotic form with a narrow columnar, dense, dark green crown up to 5 m tall. Interesting in single and small group plantings in parks and squares.

Privet Ibota ( Ligustrum ibota Sieb.)- differs from common privet in the lighter color of its obovate leaves and small drooping panicles of milky-white flowers.
Both types are backup when used in landscaping.

Spreading

Naturally grows in the south and southwest of Ukraine, in northern Moldova, in the mountainous Crimea and in the Caucasus. In cultivation it is found in the European part of Russia - in the south and in middle lane(before Oryol region); in Moscow and St. Petersburg it freezes above the snow cover; in the Asian part of the CIS countries it is cultivated in the south of Central Asia.

Tree

Densely branched shrub up to 3–5 m high, in warm winters does not shed leaves. For good development needs fertile soil, but tolerates poor, dry soils: grows well on soils containing lime, tolerates mild salinity; tolerates urban conditions very well: dust, smoke, gases. Quite frost-resistant. Withstands short frosts down to −27–30 °C. In Moscow it freezes to death in severe winters. The root system is superficial, but highly developed. Does not tolerate particularly strong shading. It grows relatively quickly. Loves warmth. Leaves are simple, lanceolate or oblong, entire, glabrous, dark green, with very small white dots, clearly visible through a magnifying glass. The shoots are greenish-gray, brownish-gray or gray with lentils. Almost opposite, ovoid, pressed to the shoot, with 4–6 (2) cross-shaped scales of red or yellow-brown color. It blooms in May after the leaves bloom. The flowers are white, fragrant, bisexual, collected in paniculate inflorescences up to 6 cm long. Flowering is long-lasting. It begins to bloom at 3 years of age. The fruits ripen in September-October and hang on the bush for a long time. The fruit is a two-locular black berry with 1–2 seeds, round, shiny, about 9 mm in diameter, with red flesh. The seeds are obovate, flat- or concave-convex or triangular, finely wrinkled, dark brown, about 5 mm long. Weight of 1,000 seeds is 22 grams. The germination rate of class I seeds is 85%. For spring sowing, the seeds need stratification. It is used as a soil-fixing plant and in landscaping.