Wax privet

Ligustrum obtusifolium

  • Wax privet
  • Wax privet
  • Wax privet
  • Wax privet
  • Flower name
    Wax privet
  • Scientific name
    Ligustrum obtusifolium
  • Alias疣取木, Ligustrum obtusifolium, Ibota
  • Place of originJapan and Taiwan
  • Place of floweringFields and footpaths, Low mountains
  • Flowering seasonMay, June

What is Wax privet

Wax privet, Ligustrum obtusifolium, or Ibotanoki (scientific name:Ligustrum obtusifolium) is a deciduous shrub in the
familly Oleaceae, native to Japan and Taiwan. The elliptical leaves are regularly attached in pairs, giving the appearance of feathery double leaves. In early summer, a number of small white tubular flowers bloom in an inflorescence that extends from the tip of the flower stem. It produces small, dark purple, oval-shaped fruits in the fall.
The secretions of the ringworm, a parasite on the bark of a tree, become warty wax, which is used to make the wood's bark shiny and to improve its sliding properties.
The genus includes Wax-leaf privet, (scientific name: Ligustrum japonicum) and Chinese privet,(scientific name: Ligustrum lucidum).

Common name: Wax privet, scientific name: Ligustrum obtusifolium, also known as Ibota privet,Ligustrum obtusifolium,
Place of Origin: Japan, Taiwan; Distribution: Hokkaido - Kyushu; Environment: Bright forest edge of mountain and field; Type of Life: Deciduous shrub; Tree height: 2-4 m; Petiole: alternate growth; Leaf colour: green; Petiole: full margin; Leaf height: 3-5 cm; Leaf shape: oval; Inflorescence: general inflorescence; Crown: tubular flower with four lobes at the tip; Flowering period: May - June; Flower colour: white; Flower diameter: 0.5 cm; Fruit type: nucleus (drupe); Fruit diameter: 0.7 cm; Fruit stage: October; Fruit shape: oval; Fruit colour: dark purple; Remarks: Warty wax is the secretion of the warty beetle on the bark; Uses: Apparatus material, toothpicks, base wood, charcoal.


  • Order
    Lamiales
  • Family
    Oleaceae
  • Genus
    Ligustrum
  • Species
    L. obtusifolium
  • Type of flower
    Radial symmetrical flower
  • Array of flower
    Gross inflorescence
  • Petal shape
    Tubular
  • Leaf type
    Oval
  • Edge of the leaf
    Entire
  • Life typedeciduous shrub
  • Flower colors
  • Colors of the leavesGreen
  • Fruit colorGreen
  • Height200.0 ~ 400.0 cm
  • Diameter of flower0.5 ~ 0.5 cm

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