Fringe trees (
Chionanthus virginicus) are flowering in northwest Louisiana. You can find them on the Centenary campus, around town, and growing wild in Caddo parish. This tree takes on different shapes depending on the growing conditions. In the arboretum, you can study fringe trees grown in low-light, part shade and full sun conditions. Trees grown in full sun, like the individual pictured below, tend toward a multi-trunk habit.
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| Our tree of the week is a diminutive, shrubby fringe tree,
covered in the eponymous fringe flowers. This individual is 6-years-old.
It's an arboretum volunteer, first identified as a tiny seedling,
growing under a hawthorn -- not the best location for its development. |
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| During the winter of 2013, soon after it was identified, the little seedling was transplanted to this very sunny location, on a steep
slope south of Mickle Hall, and near the Ratcliff Gazebo. |
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| For such a young tree, its flower production is marvelous. These flowers have a faint, sweet fragrance. |
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| This fringe tree has taken on a multi-stemmed form, resembling a shrub. |
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| A panicle was snipped for closer inspection. |
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| The panicles are long, and clustered with white flowers. |
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| Each flower is slight, very delicate. |
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| Petals are very thin, but long, measuring approximately an inch in length. |
