Forestiera acuminata (Michx.)
Abstract
Swamp privet is a deciduous shrub or small, open-crowned tree, occasionally reaching 10 m in height but more often averaging 1.5 to 2.5 m. It is commonly multi-trunked. The bark ranges from gray to dark brown in color and is either smooth or ridged. Twigs are light brown, glabrous, and have conspicuous lenticels. Leaves are simple, opposite, and a dull, yellowish green. They range in size from 3 to 11 cm in length, and 2.5 to 5 cm in width. Leaves have long, pointed tips and petioles that are slender and slightly winged at the base. While leaf margins are usually smooth, it is not uncommon for the apex half to be finely serrated. Swamp privet is found in the wet woodlands and swamps of the Southeastern United States, from South Carolina south to Florida and westward into Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. It ranges as far north as Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri. Swamp privet will grow in either full or partial sun and is highly adaptable to various soils as long as they are moist. It frequently produces new stems from the base of senescing individuals, especially when soils are flooded. Swamp privet plants are monoecious; flowers emerge in the spring before the leaves unfold. They are yellow, fragrant and small, the males sessile or almost so, the females in small panicles or fascicles. They have no petals and minute or absent sepals. Male flowers have one to four stamens, female flowers have simple or two-lobed stigmas. Fruits are dark purple or black oblong drupes, 8 to 12 mm long with one, rarely two, seeds. They appear in summer and are promptly shed. The fruits are considered good food for wildlife.