Chionanthus virginicus
Object Details
- Description
- This native fringetree has beautiful, fluffy white flowers in the spring and deep blue fruit in the summer. It is listed as Threatened in Ohio.
- Hardiness
- -40 - 30 F
- Attracts
- Attracts birds with fruit and shelter.
- Bloom Time
- May to June
- Provenance
- From a cultivated plant not of known wild origin
- Range
- Central to E. US
- Habitat
- Full sun to part shade, moist, fertile soil.
- Topic
- Trees
- Living Collections
- See more items in
- Smithsonian Gardens Tree Collection
- On Display
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Data Source
- Smithsonian Gardens
- Accession Number
- 2017-0422A
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Common Name
- Fringetree
- Poison ash
- Old Man's Beard
- Virginian Snow Flower
- Group
- [vascular plants]
- Class
- Equisetopsida
- Subclass
- Magnoliidae
- Superorder
- Asteranae
- Order
- Lamiales
- Family
- Oleaceae
- Genus
- Chionanthus
- Species
- virginicus
- Life Form
- Deciduous tree
- Average Height
- 15-20'
- Bark Characteristics
- Brown, gray
- Bloom Characteristics
- Male flowers showier than female flowers. Produces drooping clusters of fringe-like flowers which grow at the ends of branches. Clusters are 4-6" long.
- Dioecious
- Yes. Some perfect flowers.
- Fall Color
- Yellow
- Foliage Characteristics
- Simple, opposite, nearly opposite, or whorled spear-shaped leaves. 8" long. Dark green with entire margins.
- Fruit Characteristics
- Olive-like, ripen to dark blue-black in late summer.
- Structure
- Spreading, rounded
- Metadata Usage
- Not determined
- Record ID
- ofeo-sg_2017-0422A
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.