This commonly cultivated species sometimes persists at old home sites, but it has generally not spread into the wild. There are colls. of this species or the closely related F. viridissima Lindl. from persistent or escaped plants in BALL, DAVI, JEFF, LYON, MCRE and TRIG (M, CW; APSC). The genus Forsythia is largely east Asian and quite distinct from most Oleaceae; it has bright yellow 4-lobed flowers and many-seeded capsules (W and citations; Dupin et al. 2024). It is sometimes confused with Jasminium nudiflorum Lindl. ("winter jasmine"), a less hardy species from east Asia; Jasminium is a complex genus with white or yellow 4-10 lobed flowers and simple or trifoliate leaves. Another distinct early branch of Oleaceae consists of the genus Fontanesia ("Syrian privet"), from the eastern Mediterranean and east Asia, which is locally cultivated in eastern states and perhaps rarely escaped (K, W). Fontanesia has white 4-lobed flowers in panicles, and samaras as fruit (apparently independently evolved from Fraxinus)!