I am wonder if someone can help me to identify this plant. It is growing in the backyard of my brother's house on Vancouver Island. It is a tall leafy bush with small black fruit. They have a young child who will be running around the backyard and want to make sure there are no issues with this plant. Thanks for your assistance. Doug
Agreed, Ligustrum ovalifolium 'Aureum' (a.k.a. variegated privet). Poisonous, but also foul-tasting, so relatively harmless (the child would take one taste and spit it out with a loud 'YUKK!', and not swallow enough to be harmed)
Also known as the California privet. It produces alkaloids which causes gastrointestinal upsets - vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea, etc. Some reports on accidental ingestion of berries of the common privet (Ligustrum vulgare)by children suggests that up to 12 berries causes diarrhoea and vomiting, but nothing more serious than that. (You see, kids may eat the most surprising things! So, watch out.) There is also the oft cited example of a sheep which died after ingesting the clippings off a hedge of Ligustrum ovalifolium