This week’s plant feature is the fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus), also known as old man’s beard because of the way its pretty, white petals droop when it blooms in April. According to Donald Culross Peattie, the fringetree “contributes to the higher things of life: it is a raving beauty when in mid-spring it is loaded from top to bottom with the airiest, most ethereal yet showy flowers boasted by any member of our northern sylva.” This showy native tree, which only stretches twenty feet high, should be a staple in home gardens for its beauty alone, but female trees have the benefit of producing berries that are excellent bird food.
Historically, fringetree has been used medicinally. According to Eileen Malone-Brown, Native Americans used fringetree to make a root-bark tea that cleaned wounds and reduced inflammation. Later, U.S. physicians used bark teas to treat liver ailments. Even today, homeopathic practitioners use root-bark to treat ailments such as headaches and depression, but be careful, overdoes can cause vomiting and slow your pulse.
Unfortunately, fringetrees are under threat today. The Emerald Ash Borer attacks other members of the Oleaceae, besides ashes (Fraxinus spp.) and this includes fringetrees.
Sense of Place 