Distribution
Andorra, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America (introduced)

Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, Caucasus, North Iran. Introduced worldwide

GBIF.org (10th February 2018) GBIF Occurrence Download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.4wszmq

Semi-evergreen or deciduous shrub, growing to 3 m (rarely up to 5 m) tall. The stems are stiff, erect, with grey-brown bark spotted with small brown lenticels. The leaves are borne in decussate opposite pairs, sub-shiny green, narrow oval to lanceolate, 2-6 cm long and 0.5-1.5 cm broad. The flowers are produced in mid-summer in panicles 3-6 cm long, each flower creamy-white, with a tubular base and a four-lobed corolla ('petals') 4-6 mm diameter. The flowers produce a strong, pungent fragrance that many people find unpleasant. The fruit is a small glossy black berry 6-8 mm diameter, containing one to four seeds.