Chionanthus retusus Bob McCartney rose-like blooms open against fresh

rose-like blooms open against fresh green

The essential oil scents perfumes and soaps

and cut a few sprigs of the holly-like foliage for winter arrangements

and freely produced against the dark leaves in early spring

The confusion is old and well documented

Chionanthus retusus Bob McCartney rose-like blooms open against freshFor a week or two in late spring, the Chinese fringetree vanishes under what looks like a fresh fall of snow. Chionanthus retusus is a deciduous small tree of eastern Asia, native across China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, and the whole performance turns on the flowering: dense, lacy panicles of narrow, strap shaped petals, pure white and softly fragrant, break over the entire canopy until the leaves all but disappear beneath the froth. The genus name