Chionanthus virginicus aka White Fringetree

Chionanthus virginicus, also known as white fringetree, is a deciduous shrub or small tree that is native to the savannas and lowlands of the southeastern United States, from New Jersey south to Florida, and west to Oklahoma and Texas. It can grow up to 10 to 11 meters tall, although it is usually less than that. The bark is scaly, brown tinged with red, and the shoots are light green, downy at first, later becoming light brown or orange. The leaves are opposite, simple, ovate or oblong, and turn yellow in fall. The fragrant flowers have a pure white, deeply four-lobed corolla and are best seen from below. The showy blue-black fruits, maturing in late summer, provide a food source for birds and wildlife. While it is native to the southeastern United States, the white fringetree is hardy in the north and is extensively planted in gardens, where specimens are often grown with multiple trunks. It prefers a moist soil and a sheltered situation. Fringetree is a small deciduous tree that can grow from 12 to 20 feet tall and wide with a multi-stemmed rounded habit. It can tolerate clay soil and drought. However, in 2014, white fringetrees in Ohio were reported to be hosting infestations of the emerald ash borer, an insect native to Asia that has become a highly destructive invasive pest of ash trees in North America. Since then, emerald ash borer has been found in white fringetrees in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, indicating to researchers that white fringetree is being utilized by emerald ash borer throughout the range where the species overlap. The dried roots and bark of the white fringetree were used by Native Americans to treat skin inflammations, and the crushed bark was used in treatment of sores and wounds.