As its name suggests, Chinese privet is native to China and was brought as an ornamental plant to North America in 1852. Privet is a hardy plant that grows in nearly any type of soil and can be found in both wet and dry areas. In the wild, privet grows on disturbed areas and was initially dependent on human activity, fires, windstorms, or elephant foraging to allow it to spread throughout an area and take over the forest canopy. Privet can withstand fire and regrowth from the roots Prune is dispersed throughout the environment not only by sucker roots but also by birds consuming its fruit and urinating on the still-viable seeds. It grows fast. When Sanford Stadium hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics soccer matches, the privet hedges were temporarily taken down and replaced. They grew sufficiently in a week upon their return to Sanford Stadium that it was impossible to tell they had ever been relocated.
Even without human interference nature would eventually control privet populations. Horticulturists found that a nematode infestation was causing the Sanford Stadium privet to slowly wither away during the 1996 transplanting process. They treated it, but nematode infestations may be the cause of many wild stands of privet dying. If left unchecked for centuries, native plants could eventually reclaim the space that privet once occupied.
The Georgia Bulldogs defeated their bitter rival, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, nine times in a row during the 1927 college football season before facing them. During this time period, the Bulldogs played the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta every time because their own home games were held at the subpar Herty Field in Atlanta. Since the Bulldogs were a quick team that year, some Yellow Jacket officials flooded the field with water prior to the game, making it impossible for Georgia to use its speed advantage. As a result, the Yellow Jackets defeated the Bulldogs 12-0, ending their undefeated season. Angry, Georgia officials promised to construct their own stadium so they could host Tech games at home every other year. Sanford Stadium was completed in 1929. Chinese privet hedges were planted close to the sidelines, and home games for Georgia are known as being played “between the hedges.” As a devoted Georgia Bulldog, I was thrilled to find a single Chinese privet plant that had recently appeared by itself next to my back door. Gardeners planted Chinese privet in Sanford Stadium during 1929. Athens, Georgia, college football games are known for being played “between the hedges.” Photo from Gun and Garden Magazine. Being a huge fan of the Georgia Bulldogs, I was thrilled to find this Chinese privet growing next to my back door. Cardinal eating a privet berry. A minimum of sixteen bird species rely on privet thickets for sustenance and/or refuge. Photo ripped off from google s.
According to a different study, privet thickets are home to fewer bees and butterflies than privet-free zones, however this study is incredibly flawed and misleading. In Athens, Georgia, privet was mechanically removed from certain areas of a botanical garden and a nature reserve. Five years after the removal, scientists from the Forest Service trapped bees and butterflies and counted the diversity and abundance of each species. The article’s title, “Removing Chinese Privet from a Riparian Corridor Benefits Pollinators Five Years Later,” is deceptive. It would appear from the title that they counted butterflies and bees at the same spot prior to the privet being removed, but this is untrue. Rather, they contrasted the composition of bees and butterflies from this site with that of other sites in the Oconee National Forest, such as two sites with and two without privet. This is seriously flawed because, depending on factors unrelated to privacy, some sites may be better for pollinators. (And see below an obvious factor. Moreover, the areas where privet was removed were surrounded by a nature reserve and a botanical garden where people purposefully planted flowers to draw butterflies and bees. Anthropogenic activities artificially increase pollinator populations in these areas. They are even higher than in the study’s control groups, which are naturally privet-free zones. A more thorough investigation would count the pollinators in the same area both before and after the privet was removed.
Chinese privet flowers are very fragrant. I was drawn to the bush because of this, but I was unaware of it. I uploaded a picture to the Weakley’s Flora of Southeastern North America Facebook page. I discovered that Chinese privet is despised by plant conservationists because it dispels native plants. The person who helped me identify it advised me to destroy it. I told him I didn’t want to ruin it and that I liked it. Many other jerks referred to me as a troll, and one even implied that I was a phony account that joined this group solely to make fun of Chinese privacy. (Facebook suggested the group based on my interests. Thats why I joined. Someone else said that since I must not be interested in ecology and don’t belong in the group, I should use an app to identify plants. (I’ve been blogging about Pleistocene ecology for more than ten years.) Another putz advised me to inhale deeply while breathing in the flowers, perhaps anticipating an uncomfortable allergic reaction. It’s simple to expose people for their cruel attitudes thanks to the internet.
Amethyst beautyberry: A lovely deciduous vine that bears dense clusters of vivid violet berries from September into early winter, as well as delicate pinkish-purple flowers in the summer.
The majority of berry-producing shrubs have nectar-rich flowers, which is an additional advantage. These flowers are preferred food sources for native bee species, honeybees, rufous and Anna’s hummingbirds, butterflies, and other insect pollinators.
California wild grape (Vitus californica Roger’s Red): The leaves of this ornamental, deciduous vine turn a vibrant yellow to red in the fall. The grapes are small, purple, and have an unpleasant skin. They ripen in the fall.
Oregon grape (Berberis aquifolium): These striking evergreen plants have holly-like, shiny, spiky leaves. In the spring, they produce bright yellow flowers that are rich in nectar, which are followed in the fall by juicy purplish berries.
Prunus ilicifolia, or the hollyleaf cherry, is a tall, showy evergreen shrub with slightly prickly leaves and creamy white flower spikes in the spring. Numerous bird species consume its dark red to deep purple fruits. The fruits are small cherries with pits and little flesh, although they resemble large berries.
FAQ
Can birds eat privet berries?
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