Chionanthus retusus
The Chinese Fringe Tree is a small tree with a big floral display – in spring, it is quite covered with glorious clusters of flowers bearing delicate, fringe-like, petals. Although relatively few of these trees have been planted in Santa Barbara, these few attract well-deserved attention.
This lovely tree is particularly suitable for gardens in our community, because of its small size and its low-maintenance requirements. It grows slowly to form a broad spreading crown with a height and spread of 15- to 20-feet. When young, it will often have a rather sprawling and irregular growth habit; with age, it will become fuller and more symmetrical.
After a brief period in winter when it is deciduous (bare of leaves), the canopy in spring is covered with a profusion of 1-inch-long white flowers that appear in clusters up to 4-inches-long at the end of its branches. This tree is “dioecious”, which means male flowers and female flowers occur on separate trees. The male flowers are larger than the female flowers.
After pollination, female flowers will develop fruits that are blue to black in color, ½-inch-long, and drupes (a single seed covered with a thin layer of flesh and skin). These will ripen in late summer into fall. Birds love the fruit – devouring it as a nutritious source of food – and subsequently drop the seeds, together with a generous dollop of guano fertilizer.
After flowering, glossy leaves develop. The oblong ovate leaves (5- inches-long and 2½-inches- wide) appear in a pattern of opposing pairs on the twigs. The simple leaves have a leathery feel, smooth margins, and a small notch at the tips. On top, the leaves are bright green; underneath, they are light green with both midribs and larger veins rather hairy. In the fall, the leaves turn an attractive yellow and then drop…