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Forestry
Champion Trees
Swamp Privet -
[Forestiera acuminata (Michx.) Poir]
Swamp Privet is a tree that is not often noticed, mainly because
of the requirements of its habitat. This one, the Arkansas Champion Swamp
Privet, was photographed to best show the straggling habit of the species. It
was discovered and nominated by retired Monroe county Cooperative Extension Service
agent Reggie Talley. The Arkansas Forestry Commission assigned it a Bigness
Index (BI) of 77. The National Champion Swamp Privet is located at the Yazoo NWR,
located in Washington county, Mississippi and has a bigness index (BI) of 153.
This Champion tree, along with several others in this obscure
colony, is located along the bank of Plum Bayou in Jefferson county. These trees
are often understory trees growing in the shadow of much larger arboreal
neighbors. To see this specimen tree, follow highway 261 (Mulberry Cemetery
Road) south from England, Arkansas to the Ferda Road junction. Continue south
about 100 yards past this point, turn right on a farm road that crosses the
bayou. Before crossing the bayou, look to the left, this unusual tree may be
seen nestled amongst a variety of other water loving trees.
![Picture of Champion Swamp Privet [Forestiera acuminata (Michx.) Poir].](../../images/forestry/champion_trees/Champ_Swamp_Privet_full_6901.jpg)
The Swamp Privet [Forestiera acuminata (Michx.) Poir.], a
member of the Oleaceae or Olive Family, is a deciduous tree that may reach a
height of 30 feet. The simple leaves are opposite in arrangement, elliptical or
oblong-ovate, acuminate(tapering at the end to a gradual point) and remotely
serrulate above the base of the leaf. The striking flowers are dioecious, with
staminate and pistillate flowers on different plants. The staminate flowers are
seen as dense green fascicles with yellowish bracts; the pistillate flowers are
seen as short yellowish panicles. It is quite conspicuous in early spring with
the clusters of yellow flowers appearing along the gray branches before the
leaves come out. In this respect, it appears very similar to the Spice Bush. It
should be planted more extensively for its early flowering. The fruit, a
purplish drupe, is ovoid-oblong shaped with a pointed apex and is about an inch
in length. The twigs are light brown, glabrous, slender, warty, bearing numerous
lenticels, and will sometimes root upon contact with mud. Bingo! Another plant
develops, adding to the colony.
These trees are found in swamps, wetlands, or bottom lands from
Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana; eastward to Florida and northward to
Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. It has been reported in 62 of 75
counties in Arkansas. The genus name, Forestiera, is in honor of the French
physician and botanist, Charles Le Forestier, and the species name, acuminata,
refers to the acuminate leaves. Another common name is Texas Forestiera. The
tree seems to have no particular economic uses, with the exception of the fruit,
which is relished by wild ducks, and assorted waterfowl.
By: Reggie Talley
Retired Monroe County Extension Agent
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