OLEACEAE 



Fringetree 

 Chionanthus virginicus L. 



HABIT. A beautiful shrub or small tree rarely 40 feet high 

 and 1 foot in diameter; narrow, deep crown. 



LEAVES. Opposite; simple; deciduous; 4—8 inches long; 

 oval to ovate; entire; dark green above, paler and nearly gla- 

 brous below. 



FLOWERS. Dioecious; showy; in drooping panicles 4-6 inches 

 long; white, deeply divided corolla; appearing with leaves. 



FRUIT. An oval, nearly black, thin-fleshed drupe Yi-Va inch 

 long; stone thick, Vi inch long. 



TWIGS. Rather stout; green-brown; hairy. Winter buds: 

 terminal present, ovoid, acute, |/8 inch long, scaly. 



BARK. Thin; scaly; red-brown. 



WOOD. Unimportant; heavy; hard; fine-textured. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Tolerant; moist to wet sites; 

 widely planted as an ornamental. 



* * * 

 Swamp-privet. Forestiera 



Forestiera acuminata (Michx.) Poir. 



A rather rare shrub or small tree distributed along streams 

 and in swamps. It is characterized by opposite, simple, deciduous, 

 elliptic, long-pointed, glabrous, finely toothed leaves 2^-4^ 

 inches long and yellow-green; by minute, dioecious or polygamous 

 flowers without a corolla and appearing before the leaves in 

 fascicles or panicles; and an oblong, purple, thin-fleshed drupe 

 about 1 inch long. Desert-olive foresteria, F. phillyreoides Torr., 

 is a shrubby form in southern Arizona. 



* * * 

 Devilwood 



Osmanthus americanus (L.) B. & H. 



This is a shrub to medium-sized tree of the Coastal Plain from 

 Virginia to Florida and Louisiana. It is characterized by opposite, 

 simple, persistent, oblong, thick, entire, revolute leaves 3y2-5 

 inches long and lustrous bright green; by small, perfect or poly- 

 gamous flowers in racemes or fascicles ; and by an oblong, purple, 

 thin-fleshed drupe Yz-l inch long. The tree gets its name from 

 the wood which is hard and diflftcult to work or split. Bigfruit 

 osmanthus, 0. megacarpus Small, is limited to central Florida. 



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