rapidly colonize disturbed soil such as that perturbed by fires, forest clearings, erosion, or abandoned agricultural land. Privet matures quickly, which allows for a short generation cycle and even greater dispersal. The roots of privet can reproduce asexually through root suckers. This vegetative reproduction makes privet difficult and costly to control because root fragments left in the soil can sprout and grow new plants. One reason why privet is so invasive in the United States is because it has few native shrub competitors. In a sense, privet is invading and exploiting an open niche within the southern U.S. floodplain ecosystem. Prior to privet invasion much of the native land was clear and open; currently, privet forms a dense thicket which chokes out other, usually native, plant life. Thus, privet is believed to be phylogenetically distinct compared to its native cousins. Ecological impact in the U.S. Introduction All nine species of privet currently in the southeast U.S. are invasive. The first species of privet was introduced into the United States in the 1700s as an ornamental plant used as a hedge or foliage for gardens. Glossy privet arrived in the U.S. in 1794, Chinese privet in 1825, Japanese privet in 1845, California privet in 1847, and Amur privet in 1860. Privets escaped cultivation in the early 1900s, but became widely naturalized during the 1950s-1970s or later. Currently privet is designated as a foreign invasive plant in Alabama and Georgia and considered a severe threat in North Carolina and Florida. It is estimated that Chinese privet alone occupies over one million hectares of land across 12 states ranging from Virginia to Florida and west to Texas. The full ecological effect of privet is still being studied. However, data suggest that forests containing large amounts of privet tend to have fewer trees, less shrub diversity, and decreased density of herbaceous plants. When introduced to an ecosystem, privet grows quickly and, given time, will produce a thick layer under the forest canopy preventing sunlight from reaching the native plants below. In some cases, this can drive native populations to extinction. If left unchecked, privet may result in large-scale ecosystem modification and an overall loss of native species diversity and richness. The Sierra Chicas of Cordoba have experienced just such a widespread landscape change since 1970. In a study by Greene and Blossey using field observations and a transplant experiment, a significant negative correlation was