A genus of ornamental shrubs and small trees, including the fringe tree, known for their delicate white or pale flowers.
From Greek 'chion' (snow) plus 'anthos' (flower), literally 'snow-flower.' The name refers to the abundant, delicate white flowers that resemble snow on the branches.
The fringe tree (Chionanthus) blooms so thickly with white flowers in spring that it genuinely looks like snow covering the entire plant—early botanists nailed the poetic observation and encoded it into the scientific name.
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