FAMILY: OLEACEAE

ALTERNATE COMMON NAME:

LEAVES: opposite, simple, deciduous; obovate to rhombic (ovate-lanceolate), tapering both ends; glabrous; to 3” long, 1” wide; margins serrate from middle to tip; petiole 1” long; not as shiny as tree ligustrum

FLOWER: small; petals absent; staminate with four stamens, stalked clusters; pistillate in panicles 1” long; flowers before leafing out; March

FRUIT: drupes; brownish to purple; dry; 1” long, singular

TWIGS: slender; light brown; warty; lenticels white

BARK: dark brown; slightly ridged and flaky when older

FORM: small tree; under 30 feet; drooping form

HABITAT: river bottom floodplains; moist soils; swamp margins

WETLAND DESIGNATION: obligate wetland (OBL); almost always occurs (>99%) in wetlands in the southeast US

RANGE: southeast coastal plain; Mississippi River valley to Illinois

USES:

Brief Recognition Features:

1. opposite, ovate-lanceolate leaves
2. purple to brown, 1” drupe
3. wet-site habitat