Chinese Fringetree                ki-o-NAN-thus (kee-on-ANTH-us) re-TU-sus

• Broadleaf deciduous, large shrub or small tree, often multi-stemmed, 15-25 ft (4.5-7.5 m) tall and 30-40 ft (9-11 m) wide.  Leaves (variable) opposite, sub-opposite, variable shape, narrow-elliptic to oblong or obovate-oblong, with some forms almost rounded, 7.5-20 cm long, tip acute to acuminate, some emarginate (notched at tip), base broad wedge-shaped or rounded, margin entire (usual) or serrate (especially seedlings), glossy dark green above.  White flowers in terminal clusters in late spring.   Fruit is ellipsoid, about 1.25 cm long, dark blue in fall.
• Sun (for profuse flowering) or partial shade.  Tolerates alkaline soil.  Listed as having a slow, or sometimes moderate, growth rate.  However, the experience in the Sacramento, California area is that it grows rather fast in its young years.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 5    Native to China, Korea, and Japan.   Introduced to Western cultivation in 1845 by Robert Fortune.
• chionanthus: from chion, snow, anthos, flower, referring to the white flowers.    retusus: notched at tip, the leaves.
• Corvallis: Central Park, NE area, near 6th Street
• Oregon State Univ. campus: southwest of CH₂M-Hill Alumni Center, near wooden fence and also near street.