There is a huge specimen of Ligustrum compactum on the hillside, striving upwards to maximise exposure to the light. It is presently covered in terminal panicles of white flowers giving off the rich scent associated with this genus. Pass an overgrown Privit (Ligustrum sp.) hedge and this scent will pervade around during the flowering season.

Collected by Roland Edgar Cooper in 1914 while travelling in the wooded valleys near Thimpu, Bhutan. Here it grows as understory in woodland at c.2500m. In Edinburgh it has formed a sturdy trunk with a wide open canopy. Nothing compact about the specimen and definitely not one to use as a hedging plant.

Ligustrum compactum

Ligustrum compactum

Ligustrum compactum