SCIENTIFIC NAME: Chionanthus retusus serrulatus

COMMON NAME: Chinese fringe tree, Taiwan fringe tree

FLOWERS: Fragrant white flowers in early March. Very prolific flowering capacity. Has a slight fragrance. Spectacular in full bloom.

LEAVES: Opposite, rounded, glossy, and thick with a notch at the end. Swollen area where petiole attached to the twig. Up to 3" in length.

GROWTH HABIT: Grows up to 30' tall and wide as a small tree.

OTHER: Not native. Has no common insect or disease problems. Older trees will get a ridge and furrowed bark. Propagation is hard and is just developing, so this tree is going to become more popular. This is a polygamo-dioecious species (has perfect and/or staminate or pistillate flowers on the same plant). Usually a single trunk tree, but can be cut back when it is young and it will grow into a multi-trunked tree. Is a member of the Oleaceae family. Is hardy from zone 5 to 9. Don't use it above zone 7. A really great specimen of this tree is in the Patterson Greenhouse complex of the Auburn University Horticulture Dept.