|
The Fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus) belongs to Oleaceae (the Olive family). It is a small deciduous tree that is native to the southeastern United States, from New Jersey south to Florida, and west to Oklahoma and Texas. This tree grows in savannas and lowlands, and it can reach about 10 m in height. The bark is scaly, brown tinged with red. The leaves are opposite, ovate or oblong, with entire margin, and turn yellow in fall. The richly-scented, white flowers bloom in the drooping axillary panicles, when the leaves are half grown in May. The fruits are ovoid dark blue to purple drupes, mature in late summer to mid fall.
|