[2] It is widely cultivated in other regions, and is naturalized in California and in the southeastern United States from Texas to Virginia.

The fruit is an oval drupe, 10 mm long, ripening purple-black with a glaucous waxy bloom in early winter; in Japan they are popularly likened to mouse or rat droppings.

The plant grows in sun or shade, damp, disturbed, or undisturbed areas, commonly found in floodplain forests, wetlands, and pine flatwoods.

They are valued by their evergreen leaves, white flowers, adaptability to different ranges of landscape conditions, pruning, resistance to diseases, and wide availability.

Exotic plant invasion is considered one of the main causes of the degradation of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity globally.

In Florida, the FLEPPC does not list Ligustrum japonicum as an invasive species but it has escaped cultivation in 11 southeastern states including TX, AR, LA, MS, GA, SC, NC, TN, and PA9.