Fringe-Tree
Chionanthus virginicus
Family Oleaceae

Characteristics:
* Leaves large, over 2 1/2". Deciduous, hairless, egg-shaped 3-8".
* Flower white, droop in clusters. Slender, delicate petals.
* Fruits purple, ball shaped.
* Height: 8-30'.

Natural History:
* Flowers May - June.
* Fruits September - October.
* Habitat: Floodplains.
* Range: Southeastern United States; Pennsylvania to central Florida, Kentucky, and east Texas.
* Native.

Connections!
* The fringe-tree is planted in New England and the Midwest as an ornamental plant, but it grows native in the southern regions of the country. The flowers have a perfume-like aroma.

* "The Fringetree is as gracile and feminine-seeming as any that grows beside the rushing stream or climbs the warm slopes of the Blue Ridge under the shelter of sturdier growths."
-Donald Peattie, A Natural History of Trees, 1950