border privet, Ligustrum ovalifolium

Border privet. Oddly named? It respects no borders. Which is great from a bird's view. Thousands of tasty little olives on every bush! Endless bounty! Then the birds join up, becoming the invaders air force. Bombing the violets, the trilliums, the spring beauties. Where the bombs lands tough shoots spring up, the roots creep through the soil, and more whip-like shoots appear. Soon violets, trilliums, all the spring beauties are gone. Privet is an invading soldier that's hard to defeat. In one woodland where I've helped, they haven't even tried, taking on all the easy stuff first. Border privet has jumped off from the borders where we've planted it to invade CT, IA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, VA, VT, and WA. Monroe Co MI, 5/31/12. Olive family, Oleaceae.