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Privet
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<p>A privet is a <a href="/facts/Flowering_plant/E5eGYIvY">flowering plant</a> in the <a href="/facts/Genus/m8EFjSms">genus</a> <i>Ligustrum</i>. The genus contains about 50 <a href="/facts/Species/oDg6b96r">species</a> of erect, <a href="/facts/Deciduous/7jQHVtdd">deciduous</a> or <a href="/facts/Evergreen/bcLptUdV">evergreen</a> <a href="/facts/Shrub/X1gKVxL5">shrubs</a>, sometimes forming small or medium-sized trees, <a href="/facts/Native_species/03kpM3rf">native</a> to Europe, north Africa, Asia, many introduced and naturalised in Australasia, where only one species, <i>Ligustrum australianum</i>, extends as a native into Queensland. Some species have become widely naturalized or invasive where introduced. <i>Privet</i> was originally the name for the European semi-evergreen <a href="/facts/Shrub/X1gKVxL5">shrub</a> <i><a href="/facts/Ligustrum_vulgare/8V4R2rEj">Ligustrum vulgare</a></i>, and later also for the more reliably evergreen <i><a href="/facts/Ligustrum_ovalifolium/tL6fGR3G">Ligustrum ovalifolium</a></i> and its hybrid <i><a href="/facts/Ligustrum_%C3%97_ibolium/aDD8nbJm">Ligustrum × ibolium</a></i> used extensively for privacy <a href="/facts/Hedge/qp0wBkIf">hedging</a>, though now the name is applied to all members of the genus. The generic name was applied by <a href="/facts/Pliny_the_Elder/grx67ghR">Pliny the Elder</a> (23–79 AD) to <i>L. vulgare</i>. It is often suggested that the name <i>privet</i> is related to <i>private</i>, but the <a href="/facts/Oxford_English_Dictionary/qaxKX8Bc">OED</a> states that there is no evidence to support this. </p>