Chionanthus retusus var. serrulatus Canopy Trees holding ground in southern gardens

holding ground in southern gardens where grapefruit and orange could never survive

a feature rare among camellias

where the early flush of trumpets draws hummingbirds

Its species name means "of the big river

the edible berries

Chionanthus retusus var. serrulatus Canopy Trees holding ground in southern gardensFor a week or two in late spring, the Chinese fringetree disappears under snow. Chionanthus retusus var. serrulatus is a deciduous small tree of East Asia, native to China, Korea, and Japan, and the great show is the flowering: dense, lacy, fringed panicles of pure white, each petal narrow and strap like, smothering the canopy so thickly that the foliage all but vanishes. The genus name says as much, from the Greek chion, snow, and anthos, flower. The