SWAMP PRIVET
Forestiera acuminata (Michx.) Poir.
Growth Form: Small tree to 30 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 5 inches; crown spreading, irregular.
Bark: Brown, shallowly furrowed or nearly smooth.
Twigs: Slender, brown, warty or smooth; leaf scars opposite, shield-shaped, with 1 bundle trace.
Buds: Spherical, up to ⅛ inch in diameter, smooth.
Leaves: Opposite, simple; blades elliptic, pointed at the tip, tapering to the base, up to 4 inches long, up to 1½ inches broad, finely toothed along part of the edges, yellow-green and nearly smooth on the upper surface, paler and smooth on the lower surface; leafstalks slender, usually smooth, up to ½ inch long.
Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne separately on different trees, appearing before the leaves begin to unfold; staminate many in rounded clusters, yellow, without petals; pistillate several in branched clusters, yellowish, without petals.
Fruit: Slender, oblong, slightly curved, dark purple, about 1 inch long, up to ¼ inch wide, fleshy but dry, containing 1 seed.
Use: Occasionally planted as an ornamental.