A small tree 6-10 m tall. Branchlets hairless. Leaves ovate, mostly 8-10 cm long, tapering to a point, glossy dark green above, with 6-8 pairs of veins. Leaf stalk 1-1.5 cm long. Flower clusters to about 15 cm long and broad. Flowers white, the tubed base as long as the free, turned-back tips; Jan-Feb. Stamens 2, protruding. Fruit black, about 5 mm wide, in clusters of 50 or more.
China, Korea, Japan
VIC: Caulfield (Caulfield Park); Williamstown (Williamstown Botanic Gardens).
Source: (2002). Oleaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 4. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 3. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
Ligustrum lucidum 'Aureovariegatum'
Leaves variegated with yellow.
Originated about 1900.
Leaves generally slightly smaller than those of the species, irregularly blotched with yellow and white, and tinged with pink when young.
Originated about 1900.
NSW: Sydney (Centennial Park). Act: Duntroon (Officers' Mess). Vic: Caulfield (Caulfield Park); Footscray (Footscray Park); Malvern (Central Park); Springvale (Springvale Botanical Cemetery ); Williamstown (Williamstown Botanic Gardens); Yarraville (Yarraville Gardens).