FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS 353 



Name. 



Country or 



Origin and 



Natural Order, 



Colour 



AND 



Season. 



General Remarks. 



Chionanthus retusus 

 (Fringe Tree) 



Japan ; 

 Oleacese 



Pure white 



early 



Summer 



C. virginica (Ameri- 

 can Fringe Tree) 



'Choisya ternata 

 (Mexican Orange 

 Flower) 



North America 



Mexico ; 

 Rutacese 



White, 



narrow, 

 fringe-like 



petals ; 



hence the 



name 



White ; 

 Summer, 

 but much 



depends 

 upon 



position 



Cistus albidus 



South-West 

 Europe ; 

 Cis tineas 



Bright 



rose ; 



June and 



July 



Fringe Tree (Chionanthus 

 virginicus), from which, how- 

 ever, it differs in being a 

 a smaller and more slender 

 plant, while the clusters of 

 flowers are rather less dense. 

 When in bloom there is no 

 danger of confounding these 

 Chionanthuseswith any other 

 tree or shrub, as the pure 

 white drooping fringe-like in- 

 florescence is totally distinct 

 from anything else. They are 

 quite hardy, and not particu- 

 lar as to soil, though a fairly 

 deep loam suits them best. 

 An interesting bush, but taller 

 in its native country. 



This is a shrub for warm soils 

 and sunny position, when it 

 makes a big, leafy, glossy- 

 leaved bush, smothered with 

 clusters of white flowers that, 

 from their appearance and 

 fragrance, have earned the 

 shrub the name of Orange 

 Flower. At Mimstead in 

 Surrey it grows so rampantly 

 that it has to be cut away to 

 keep it within reasonable 

 bounds. In " Wood and 

 Garden," p. 63, it is men- 

 tioned, the month is May ; 

 " The Mexican Orange 

 Flower (Choisya ternata) 

 has been smothered in its 

 white bloom, so closely re- 

 sembling orange blossom. 

 With a slight winter protec- 

 tion of fir boughs it seems 

 quite at home on hot dry 

 soil, grows fast, and is very 

 easy to propagate by layers. 

 When cut it lasts for more 

 than a week in winter." 



A shrub 4 to 5 feet high, with 

 whitish leaves (hence the 

 name of albidus) and a pro- 

 fusion of blossoms 2 inches 

 across. It needs a dry, 

 warm soil, hence will succeed 

 on sloping banks, but even 

 then, in the South of England, 

 it is apt to be killed by a 

 very severe winter. This 

 last paragraph will apply to 

 the genus Cistus in general. 



