''Ligustrum robustum'' grows as a shrub or small tree up to tall though old specimens of more than a hundred years have been observed with a height of . The fruit of the shrub is an ellipsoid berry, bluish-purple when fully ripe, × .
The shrub is native to South and Southeast Asia (
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
,
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
(
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
),
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
) but has become naturalized in other countries. It was introduced to
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
at the end of the 19th century and to
La Réunion
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
*"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...
, where it has become a major invasive species.
The Flora of China lists a "''Ligustrum'' ''robustum'' subsp. ''chinense''
P. S. Green" as native to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, but more recent publications have regarded that name as a synonym of ''
L. expansum.''
''Ligustrum robustum'' was nominated among 100 of the "World's Worst" invasive species. A moth (''
Epiplema albida''), and two
coleoptera
Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...
(''
Dermorhytis ornatissima'' and ''
Dermorhytis lewisi'') are being tested for
biological control
Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or o ...
programs in
La Réunion
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
*"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...
but have not yet been released.
[T. Le Bourgeois , V. Blanfort, S. Baret , C. Lavergne , Y. Soubeyran and J.Y. Meyer. 2008. Opportunities for classical biological control of weeds in European overseas territories. International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds](_blank)
/ref> Other lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...
that feed on this plant are '' Brahmaea wallichii'', '' Pangrapta grisangula''Caterpillar host plant database
/ref> and '' Dolbina inexacta''.
Etymology
''Ligustrum'' means ‘binder’. It was named by Pliny and Virgil.[Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). p 237]
See also
*Kuding
Kuding (; pronounced ) is a particularly bitter-tasting Chinese infusion, which due to their similarities in appearance is derived from several plant species. The two most common plants used to make kuding are the wax tree species '' Ligustrum ro ...
, a tisane made from its leaves
References
robustum
Flora of the Indian subcontinent
Flora of Indo-China
Plants described in 1851
{{Oleaceae-stub