Japanese privet

The flowers are white, with a four-lobed corolla 5–6 mm long; they are borne in clusters 7–15 cm long in early summer. The fruit is an oval drupe, 10 mm long, ripening purple-black with a glaucous waxy bloom in early winter. The fruit is used in herbal medicine as a cardiotonic, diuretic, laxative and tonic treatment. They are considered invasive in this part of North Carolina and spread rapidly. The previous owners of the house had planted them.