ID of bush?

[southernnaturelover]

Elnina, the one in your photo is also L.lucidum, notice the stiff leaves with the pronounced crease. They grow to be very large, I had a huge one that was cut down about five years ago, and I'm still finding seedlings from it.
http://www.floridata.com/ref/L/ligu_luc.cfm

Japanese Privet L.japonicum is one of the least invasive privets in my opinion, and the only one I'd recommend anyone actually plant. They usually have softer leaves with a more rounded tip, and they generally don't produce as many berries.
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/a...rum-japonicum/

Chinese Privet (L.sinense) is by far the WORST one of all. They have small dull one inch leaves, and it's the one you see invading the entire southeast, particularly moist bottomland type areas.

[barndog]

Thanks, everyone! Learning about privet has been VERY interesting. I love this bush/shrub/hedge/tree? (hedge at my house), think it smells great, and have been trying to figure out what it is for years. I have never seen one before I don't think (I'm basing that on the fact that I'm sure I've never smelled one before), and I'm an NC native. Now I learn it's roughly the equivalent of kudzu. Oh, noes!

[no kudzu]

just going to say I fought privet and kudzu in my atlanta garden for decades. I do not like privet.of. any. kind.

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by no kudzu

just going to say I fought privet and kudzu in my atlanta garden for decades. I do not like privet.of. any. kind.

My land used to be infested with Chinese Privet, it was so thick in some areas you couldn't even walk through it. It took me almost a whole decade to clear it out by hand, and it's amazing the amount of native plants I see coming back now that it's gone.

I do have one Japanese Privet however that has been here for over 40 years, and I never find seedlings from it. I don't know why it behaves so differently than its Chinese relative.