I love seeing our Chionanthus virginicus (white fringe tree) lit with the golden glow of dawn. As I look west out the kitchen window, the flowers look more like white cotton candy hanging in the tree than petals.
I was amazed when we first bought the house at how big a fringe tree we had inherited! This fine vase-shaped specimen tops out around 15 feet tall. And, every spring it brings me joy when it erupts in its haze of bloom. I worry about it a bit because there’s some deadwood that needs to be removed, but these trees have a way of surviving in the pineywoods. I see them flowering up and down the roadside edges in much less hospitable environs. And, I hope that emerald ash borer stays away for a long time from this area as they can complete their life cycle in fringe trees. Yuck.
Here’s a fun fact. Did you know that Chionanthus virginicus is dioecious? That means that you have separate male and female flowers on different plants. Therefore, both sexes are needed for fruit set.
Rarely, plants exhibit the interesting condition where they are polygamo-dioecious. That means individuals that are male or female may have some perfect (male and female) flowers mixed in. I have yet to see any fruit on ours; therefore, I assume it is male. Here’s hoping that some of it’s pollen makes it’s way to a female or polygamo-dioecious male to make more of these incredible trees.
