Privets
Kudzu may be one of the most notorious invasive plants around, especially in the southern U.S., but its barkmay actually be far worse than its bite. Privets are a lesser-known invasive plant that’s likely causing more harm in the South.
The shrubs belong to the genus Ligustrum. These innocuous-looking flowering plants were originally brought over as ornamental plants from Asia. But because the U.S. has so few native species of shrubs, privets were quickly able to establish themselves in the wild. Their explosive growth shrinks the population of other plants and also impacts native pollinators like butterflies and other insects. Perhaps the most established privet species, the Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), is describedby the Department of Agriculture as “one of the worst invasive plants in the South.” If that’s not bad enough, the plants thrive with more carbon dioxide. With the way things are going, it’s likely to make privets even more of a nuisance in the future.
