FRINGETREE 



Chionanthus virginica Linnaeus 



When the tender leaves of spring have developed so that the woods 

 are just beginning to appear green, the blossoms of the fringe tree pre- 

 sent a great mass of feathery white, strikingly contrasting with the 

 neighboring trees. The fringetree is a shrub or small tree belonging 

 to the Olive Family, and a near relative of the ash. In the south it is 

 commonly termed slawbush in reference to the long slender white 

 corolla lobes. It is found in either swamps or exposed and often rather 

 dry situations, being one of those interesting plants which are rela- 

 tively indifferent to wetness or dryness so long as the soil possesses a 

 fair degree of acidity. Our native species is often planted for ornament, 

 but unless some care is taken to acidify its soil the leaves turn yellow 

 by midsummer and fall in early autumn. 



The fringetree ranges from Florida to Texas and Missouri, and 

 northward to New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 



The specimen sketched grew near Washington, District of Colum- 

 bia. 



PLATE 140 



