Glossy Privet or just an Impostor?

  Down by the pier just on the edge of the property, a medium sized bush grows under an oak tree.  This shrub is known as Glossy Privet or Ligustrum Lucidum....I think...perhaps...I hope so anyway!  The shrub has been there as long as I can remember even before the Little Bayou House was built.  I remember this particular shrub simply because I was always fascinated by the thick heads of white blooms and their effect on certain folks.  I can remember Granddad telling me how a few visitors to his place (my grandparents lived on the Bayou long before I did) would start sneezing the moment they came in contact with the bush. Personally, I have never had that problem so I assume that allergies hit only certain folks.  I like the Privet Bush and all of its pollen-laden white flowers so it stays even though poor Mark is one of those folks who seem to be sneeze-prone when it is blooming. He understands and merely stays upwind of the bush.  

  I was looking at the list of invasive plants the other day and, lo and behold, my Glossy Privet was on that list!  I was aghast!  How can this shrub be invasive?  I had always imagined that to be considered "invasive" a plant needed to be able to spread with wild abandon!  My idea was that little sprouts would shoot up in the most inopportune places and soon take over an entire area.  This comes from the description of the most irritating of all "invasives" better known as Cogon Grass.  Now that junk is truly invasive as it is now the scourge of the South beating out the Kudzu Vine! (I have to admit...that is invasive!)  Anyway, like I said earlier, this shrub has been here long before I was even around which makes it as "old as the hills".  Not once have I seen a wee, little Privet showing its bright leaves about the hillside.  Why, I have even considered picking the berries to start a few more of the bushes but have never been able to beat the birds to them. As soon as the berries ripen, the birds devour them and obviously, after passing through the bird, not one of the seeds has sprouted.  I may have to try rooting some cuttings if I want more bushes.

  Now comes the kicker.  If this is true Glossy Privet and not some impostor, everyone might wish to grow them in their yards!  According to the WebMD site, Glossy Privet can be used as a remedy for any number of maladies from promoting hair growth to preventing certain cancers (by improving the immune system).  There are a number of good points about the use of Glossy Privet but, as far as studies go, only a few side effects with the number one being allergic reaction (like sneezing!).  To use the Glossy Privet for any remedy, I would need to get a positive identification (first and foremost!) and then beat the birds to the fruit!  It is the ripe berries that have all the good stuff in them that is helpful! So, now I need to find a botanist to identify my bush and perhaps it will become better liked by all of the inhabitants around here and not just me!  Why, my bush might just become high in demand!