Ligustrum sinense (Chinese privet, "Kominonezumimochi")

Japanese name: コミノネズミモチ （小実鼠黐）
Scientific name: Ligustrum sinense

[Overview]
A deciduous shrub about 3 m tall, sometimes reaching 7 m.
It branches well, and the young branches have yellowish-brown hairs.
The leaves are simple and opposite, lanceolate to ovate, 2–7 cm long and 1–3 cm wide, and often slightly notched at the tip.
The leaves are sparsely hairy on both sides, hairless, or hairy only on the midrib.
The leaf margins are entire.
The petioles are short and hairy.
Panicles 4–11 cm long arise from the branch tips or leaf axils, and the panicle axis is usually densely covered with yellowish-brown hairs.
The flowers are white, 0.4–0.6 cm across, with a 4-lobed corolla.
The stamens protrude beyond the flower, and the anthers are tinged pink before they open.
The fruit is nearly spherical, 0.5–0.8 cm across, and ripens to blackish purple.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
It prefers sunny, well-drained, fertile soil.
It tolerates shade, but flowering is poor if the site is not sunny.
It is hardy and easy to grow.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, watering is unnecessary unless sunny weather continues in midsummer and the soil becomes severely dry.
Fertilizing is also not particularly needed, but depending on growth, a small amount of oil cake may be applied as fertilizer in winter.
It also tolerates shearing well.
A pest is the ibota scale insect.

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