White fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus) – Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center

White fringe tree – Overall

OVERALL APPEARANCE
Photo courtesy to Monica Marcelli.

White fringe tree – leaf

LEAF DETAIL
Photo courtesy to Monica Marcelli.

White fringe tree – fruit

MATURE & IMMATURE FRUIT
Photo courtesy to Monica Marcelli.

Taxonomy

Family: Oleaceae

Genus: Chionanthus

Scientific name: Chionanthus virginicus

Common names: ^{(TWC Staff, 2023)}

White fringe tree / Fringe Tree
Snowflower Tree
Flowering Ash
Old Man’s Beard
Grandfather Graybeard / Granny Graybeard

Morphology

Type: deciduous, perennial shrub or small tree ^{(Chionanthus virginicus, n.d.a, TWC Staff, 2023)}

Size: 4 to 6 m ^{(Chionanthus virginicus, n.d.)}

Leaves: up to 20 cm in length, simple, opposite, ovate, acute^{(Chionanthus virginicus, n.d.a, TWC Staff, 2023; Chionanthus virginicus, 2023)}

Flowers: Produces white/creamy, aromatic flowers with 4 to 6 petals that grow in clusters in early summer May to June. The blooms are dioecious, however rarely they can also be monoecious and perfect flowers in each plant, male and female. Male flowers are more showy – they are bigger compared to the female flowers ^{(Chionanthus virginicus, n.d.a, TWC Staff, 2023; Shetler, 1997)}

Fruit: blue to black grape-like drupe that grows in clusters. Fruit develops at the end of the summer to early fall. It usually produces only one seed, but occasionally may have 2 or 3^{(Chionanthus virginicus, n.d.a; TWC Staff, 2023; Shetler, 1997; Chionanthus virginicus, 2023)}

Growth and Attributes

Toxicity: might cause vomiting, headache and slow pulse if ingested ^{(Fringetree, 2019)}

Reproduction: via seeds

Pollinators: Rustic Sphinx moth and bats ^{(White Fringetree, 2019)}

Habitat: woods, hillsides, stream banks, glades, cliffs and ledges and swamps ^{(Shetler, 1997)}

Distribution: Eastern and Southern North America in USDA distribution map ^{(Chionanthus virginicus, 2014)}

Cultivation: requires full sun to partially shady, medium watering, needs moist well irrigated soil, can grow in clay soils it doesn’t tolerate drought ^{(Chionanthus virginicus, n.d.)}

Conservation status: least concern ^{(Chionanthus virginicus, 2023)}

Ecosystem value: shelter and food for birds, food for wild animals which are attracted to berries, twigs and foliage ^{(Chionanthus virginicus, n.d.a; TWC Staff, 2023)}

Human uses: ornamental, medicinal ^{(Chionanthus virginicus, n.d.a; Shetler, 1997)}

Pest arthropods: scale, borers, emerald ash borer, inkblot palpita, hornworm ^{(Chionanthus virginicus, n.d.; Chionanthus virginicus, 2023; Chionanthus virginicus (n.d.)}

Pest damage example: emerald ash borer

Diseases: leaf spots, powdery mildew and stem cankers ^{(Chionanthus virginicus, 2014)}

Unique characteristics: tolerant to black walnut negative allelopathy and to air pollution; wildflower of the year in 1997 ^{(Chionanthus virginicus, n.d.; Shetler,1997)}

Resistant to deer: moderately ^{(Smith, 2022)}

Wetland plant status:^{(Chionanthus virginicus, n.d)}

Facultative (FAC) in the Eastern Mountains and Piedmont region
Facultative upland (FACU) in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain western region

References

Chionanthus virginicus (2014, June 13). Trees and Power Lines, University of Florida. https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/treesandpowerlines/chionanthus_virginicus.shtml#:~:text=Foliage%3A%20Deciduous%20tree%20with%20no,powdery%20mildew%20and%20stem%20cankers.

Chionanthus virginicus, 2014. United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Center. https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=CHVI3

Chionanthus virginicus, (2023, July, 10). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chionanthus_virginicus

Chionanthus virginicus, n.d. a Missouri Botanical Garden. Chionanthus virginicus – Plant Finder (missouribotanicalgarden.org)

Chionanthus virginicus (n.d.c.) North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant toolbox. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/chionanthus-virginicus/

Chionanthus virginicus (n.d. b) US Army corps of Engineers. https://wetland-plants.sec.usace.army.mil/nwpl_static/v34/species/species.html?DET=001100#

Jones, C. (2023, May 8). Fringetree: The Perfect Native Tree. Direct Native Plants. https://directnativeplants.com/fringetree-the-perfect-native-tree/

Shetler, G.S. (1997, Dec 16). 1997 Fringe Tree (Chionanthus Virginicus). Virginia Native Plant Society. https://vnps.org/1997-fringe-tree-chionanthus-virginicus

Smith, M.L. (2022, March, 22). Fringetree, an Enchanting Native Tree for the Home Landscape. PennState Extension. https://extension.psu.edu/fringetree-an-enchanting-native-tree-for-the-home-landscape

TWC Staff (2023-04-19). Chionanthus virginicus. Ladybird Johnson wildflower center. Chionanthus virginicus (White fringetree) | Native Plants of North America (wildflower.org)

White Fringetree (2019, March 13). Florida Foraging. https://www.floridaforaging.com/plant/chionanthus-virginicus

^{Coauthored by Monica Marcelli & Adrian Hagarty, 2023.}

Taxonomy

Morphology

Growth and Attributes

Recommended Reading

References