A rounded, deciduous bush of thin, diffuse, but elegant habit, 6 to 10 ft high; branches thin, wiry, rather rigid, covered with a darkish minute down when young. Leaves 1 to 11⁄2 in. long, one-third to half as wide, oval or obovate, tapering to a short stalk at the base, often bluntish at the apex, glabrous on both surfaces, but minutely downy on the stalk. Flowers white, fragrant, produced in September and October in slender downy panicles, 4 to 8 in. long, 11⁄2 to 3 in. in diameter. Fruits ovoid, shining, purplish. Bot. Mag., t. 9209.
Native of China; introduced to France about 1862. The habit of flowering so late in the season gives this species a special value in the garden, for it is one of the prettiest and most elegant of privets in bloom. Its flowers do not always open if September be dull and cold, but it deserves to be more extensively grown. The specific name was given in compliment to M. Quihou, once superintendent of the Jardin d’Acclimatation at Paris.