North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Chionanthus virginicus

Chionanthus virginicus L.

fringe-tree, white fringetree, old man's beard

Synonym(s): Chionanthus virginicus var. maritimus

Image ID: 12873
Image by: Cressler, Alan M.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: CHVI3
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Chionanthus virginicus
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-02-07

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: CHION
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Chionanthus
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Fringetree
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of controversial circumscription, either of only 2 or 3 species, limited to se. North America and possibly e. Asia, or (if including Linociera and/or other relatives) of about 60, shrubs and trees, primarily tropical. Hong-Wa & Besnard (2013) exclude the African and Madagascarian species and suggest a much narrower circumscription of Chionanthus, but the best circumscription of this genus and other related genera remains unclear.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Nesom in prep. (FNA); Hardin (1974)=Z; Hong-Wa & Besnard (2013).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: OLEACE
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Oleaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Hoffmansegg & Link 1813
FAMILY COMMON: Olive Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 25 genera and 600-615 species, trees and shrubs, nearly cosmopolitan, but centered in Asia.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Hardin (1974)=Z; Green in Kadereit (2004).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: to 25 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Shrub, Tree

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Opposite
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Radial (Actinomorphic)
BLOOM TIME: April-May

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
		x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: Creamy-white flowers

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x

FRUITING PERIOD: Sept.-Oct.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: eastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: White fringetree is one of the most ornamental southeastern native trees. The loose, arching branches bear panicles of feathery white flowers in late spring. On female plants, the flowers are followed by dark blue to black berries in Sept.-Oct., which are eaten by songbirds. White fringetree can be grown as either a large shrub or small tree, with an open, spreading habit. Its fall foliage color is yellow. The Choctaw tribe used the roots and bark to make a dressing for wounds. The Chionanthus genus supports up to 8 lepidoptera species.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 4
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Bird Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
211	HORT	2010-03-01	NCBG staff	View
381	HORT		Liloia	View
1084	HORT	2005-08-11	Bell	View
1299	HORT	2006-08-15	Bryan	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
212	2011-0035	2011-01-31	211	View
377	2011-0250	2011-11-29	381	View
821	1985-0485			View
1261	1986-1033			View
3793	1991-0488			View
4579	1992-0735			View
4748	1993-0019			View
4920	1995-0038			View
5089	1995-0208			View
5711	1995-0837			View
6024	1995-1155			View
6522	1996-0150			View
6851	1998-0057			View
7422	2000-0167	2000-04-25		View
7461	2000-0206	2000-05-15		View
7532	2000-0293	2000-09-21		View
8058	2004-0066	2004-09-09		View
9469	2021-0124	2021-12-21	0	View
9471	2021-0135	2021-12-21	0	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
427	212	28	MacIntyre	2011-03-03	View
428	212	21	Poythress	2011-04-08	View
429	212	32	Poythress	2011-04-15	View
430	212	34	Poythress	2011-04-15	View
908	377	20	Mixon	2013-04-01	View
1561	821	158	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
2177	1261	84	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6102	3793	199	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6908	4579	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
7084	4748	6	NCBG staff	1991-03-01	View
7339	4920	202	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
7508	5089	203	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
8225	5711	204	NCBG staff	1993-01-01	View
8674	6024	2	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
9223	6522	135	NCBG staff	1996-01-01	View
9713	6851	159	NCBG staff	1998-02-27	View
10422	7422	174	NCBG staff	2000-04-19	View
10468	7461	153	NCBG staff	2000-04-26	View
10469	7461	155	NCBG staff	2000-04-26	View
10584	7532	115	NCBG staff	1967-12-01	View
11324	8058	27	NCBG staff	2003-07-17	View
12953	9469	154	MacIntyre	0000-00-00	View
12956	9471	159	MacIntyre	0000-00-00	View
13094	0	18	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13330	0	65	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13622	0	60	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13745	0	71	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
14032	212	31	Wait	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: CHVI3
USDA Common Name: White Fringetree
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, DC, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACU				FAC	FACU		FAC	FAC

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Chionanthus virginicus
COMMON NAME: Fringe-tree, Old Man's Beard
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, FNA, G, GW, K, Mo, Pa, RAB, Va, W, WH3, Z; = C. virginica - S, orthographic variant]
PHENOLOGY: Apr-May; Jul-Sep.
HABITAT: Dry, mesic, or wet forests and woodlands, granitic flatrocks and domes, glades and barrens over various rocks (including granite, greenstone, etc.), swamp forests in the Coastal Plain, tidal swamps, rarely pocosins.
COMMENTS: NJ, s. PA, s. OH, and MO south to c. peninsular FL and e. TX. C. virginicus in our area shows a diversity of morphology and correlated habitat that suggests the possible presence of two taxa. Swamp- and pocosin-inhabiting populations in the outer Coastal Plain have leaves 4-8× as long as wide and seem very different than Piedmont dry woodland populations with leaves 1-2× as long as wide; further and more careful study is needed. C. virginicus is a traditional southern yard plant, often used as a specimen plant, very showy in spring, particularly when grown to its full size.
RANGE MAP: Chionanthus virginicus.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Oleaceae Hoffmansegg & Link 1813 (Olive Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 25 genera and 600-615 species, trees and shrubs, nearly cosmopolitan, but centered in Asia.
REFERENCE: Hardin (1974)=Z; Green in Kadereit (2004).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Chionanthus L. (Fringetree)
SUMMARY: A genus of controversial circumscription, either of only 2 or 3 species, limited to se. North America and possibly e. Asia, or (if including Linociera and/or other relatives) of about 60, shrubs and trees, primarily tropical. Hong-Wa & Besnard (2013) exclude the African and Madagascarian species and suggest a much narrower circumscription of Chionanthus, but the best circumscription of this genus and other related genera remains unclear.
REFERENCE: Nesom in prep. (FNA); Hardin (1974)=Z; Hong-Wa & Besnard (2013).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Chionanthus virginicus in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Chionanthus virginicus in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Chionanthus virginicus in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Chionanthus virginicus in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Chionanthus virginicus in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Chionanthus virginicus

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 12873 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 12873 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 7476 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 12873 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)