"That's it!" This is the one I was trying to find. You are one *smart cookie* Lance. I can hardly wait to see how this one does come Spring! Thanks for sharing!!!
Hi Angie...thanks for the great close-ups of the leaves. I studied the photos in the link you provided and I'm thinking it is likely not the Buttonbush because the Buttonbush leaves are very heavily veined (deeply set in) creating a distinctive *mound* in the areas between the veins. This makes the leaf surface quite textured. Whereas the leaves in your photos appear to be quite smooth-surfaced.
Hi Bensai...nice to meet you. I studied photos of the Sweetbay Magnolia (virginiana)... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_virginiana... and the leaves appear to be densely clustered, more heavily textured and very large compared to Aklister's photos. Also the bark does not look the same...although this could possibly be due to difference in age.
This one is a challenge to identify! As Aklister mentioned, we may have to wait until Spring to figure it out.
It does look like a Japanese privet, but Missouri is too cold for them to survive the winter. The planting zone for Japanese privets are zone 7b through 10a. I'm stumped. haha