Chionanthus virginicus

Chionanthus virginicus (Grancy Gray Beard, Old man's beard, White Fringetree; syn. C. virginica L.) is a tree native to the Eastern portion of the United States, which is used both as a medicinal and ornamental plant.



Description
A slender tree twenty or thirty feet high; at the north a shrub of several thick, spreading stems. Commonly planted on lawns and parks. Ornamental. Roots are fibrous.

The singular appearance of its snow white flowers which look like a fringe is the source of its common name. These flowers appear abundantly when the leaves are half grown and the foliage mass becomes a combination of soft green and pure white, which is most beautiful.


 * Bark: Brown, tinged with red, scaly. Branchlets terete, light green, downy, at first; later they become light brown or orange color.
 * Wood: Light brown, sapwood paler brown; heavy, hard, close-grained.
 * Winter buds: Light brown, ovate, acute, one-eighth of an inch long. Outer scales fall when spring growth begins, inner scales enlarge with the growing shoot and become leaf-like, an inch or more in length.
 * Leaves: Opposite, simple, ovate or oblong, four to eight inches long, one to four inches broad, wedge-shaped at base, entire with undulate margins, acuminate, acute or rounded at apex. Feather-veined, midrib stout, primary veins conspicuous.  They come out of the bud conduplicate, yellow green and shining above, downy beneath; when full grown are dark green above, pale below and smooth except the midrib and veins which are hairy.  In autumn they turn a clear yellow and fall early.  Petiole stout, hairy.
 * Flowers: May, June; when leaves are one-third grown. Perfect, white, slightly fragrant, borne in loose, downy, drooping, bracted panicles, four to six inches long, from lateral buds; peduncles three-flowered.
 * Calyx: Four-parted, small, smooth, persistent.
 * Corolla: An inch long, white, dotted on inner surface with purple spots, deeply divided into four, varying to five and six, long and narrow lobes barely united at base; conduplicate, valvate in bud.
 * Stamens: Two, inserted on the base of the corolla, extrorse, filaments short; anthers pale yellow, ovate, two-celled.
 * Pistil: Ovary superior, two-celled; style short; stigma fleshy, two-lobed.
 * Fruit: Drupe, borne in loose clusters, on which the bracts have become leaf-like. Oval or oblong, dark blue, glaucous, one-half to three-fourths of an inch long, surrounded at base by the persistent calyx and tipped with remnants of the style.  Skin thick; flesh dry; stone thin.

Distribution
Ranges from Pennsylvania to Florida, westward through the Gulf states to Texas, Arkansas, and Kansas.

Cultivation
The Fringe-tree is one of the most beautiful of the ornamental shrubs of the United States and although a native of the south it is hardy at the north and is extensively planted. It prefers a moist soil and a sheltered situation and may be propagated by grafting on the ash.

Medicinal uses
Chionanthus virginicus has a few medicinal uses. The dried roots and bark are used to treat skin inflammations. It can also be employed for all liver problems. Also used in gall-bladder inflammations. Reduces surger levels in urine. The crushed bark can be used in treatment of sores and wonds.