Ligustrum obtusifolium (border privet or Amur privet) is a species of privet, native to Japan, Korea and northeastern China (Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Shandong, Zhejiang).Flora of China: Ligustrum obtusifoliumKew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Ligustrum obtusifolium The species is considered invasive in parts of the United States. It has become very common in southern New England, the mid-Atlantic States, and the Great Lakes regions, with scattered occurrences in the South, the Great Plains, and Washington state.Biota of North America Program, Ligustrum obtusifolium With Ligustrum ovalifolium it is a parent of the widespread hybrid Ligustrum × ibolium.
Ligustrum obtusifolium is a deciduous shrub growing to tall. The leaves are long and broad.Siebold, Philipp Franz von & Zuccarini, Joseph Gerhard. 1846. Abhandlungen der Mathematisch-Physikalischen Classe der Königlich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 4(3): 168
There are three subspecies: Ligustrum obtusifolium subsp. obtusifolium. Japan. Ligustrum obtusifolium subsp. microphyllum (Nakai) P.S.Green. Eastern China, Korea, Japan. Ligustrum obtusifolium subsp. suave (Kitagawa) Kitagawa. Northeastern China.
Etymology Ligustrum means ‘binder’. It was named by Pliny and Virgil.Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). p 237
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