Tree Description:
A small understory tree growing to 25 feet tall, with a slender trunk to 6" in diameter and upright branches that form a loose, irregular crown.
Range/Site Description:
Occurs on loamy soils in East Texas woodlands, west to the Brazos River valley, generally growing in the shade of other trees.
Leaf:
Simple, oppositely attached to the twigs, 3" to 8" long and 0.5" to 4" wide, dark green on the upper surface and paler underneath, turning a clear bright yellow in the fall.
Flower:
The flowers appear in the axils of the new leaves in spring as loose, drooping clusters 4" to 8" long; each flower has long, narrow, white petals that give the appearance of confetti and provide the common name, "fringetree."
Fruit:
A large, berry-like drupe, sometimes as much as 1" long, dark blue, purple, or black, with a waxy coating or "bloom;" fruits are grouped together in loose, drooping clusters and are favored by a variety of wildlife species.
Bark:
Brown or gray, similar to that of a young ash tree, but rougher and paler.
Wood:
Bark was used as a diuretic and fever remedy; more often used today as a landscape specimen tree.
Similar Species:
Swamp-privet (Forestiera acuminata) has smaller, long-pointed leaves; Chinese fringetree (Chionanthus retusus) is an ornamental tree; sweetleaf (Symplocos tinctoria) has alternate leaves.
Interesting Facts:
The showy white flowers give the species the local common names, "old man's beard" and "grancy-graybeard."
