Chionanthus virginicus

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Distribution Map: Based on vouchered plant specimens only. View county names by placing the mouse cursor over a particular county.

Species Distribution Map
Family:OLEACEAE
Species:Chionanthus virginicus L.
Common Name:White Fringetree; Old Man's Beard; Grancy Gray Beard
Habitat:**
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Tree
Duration:Perennial
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:**
Plant Notes:Grancy Gray Beard is a native deciduous shrub or small tree in the Olive family (Oleaceae). It can be found throughout Alabama. Grancy Gray Beard occurs in open pine or hardwood forests, along forest edges, and around rock outcrops. It is a large shrub or small tree reaching heights of 12-20 feet. The bark is scaly with dark gray brown ridges and red furrows. The leaves are opposite, petiolate, ovate to elliptic in outline, with entire margins. The leaves are thin, glabrous above and pubescent with short hairs below. Flowers are produced in drooping axillary panicles from the previous seasons growth. Grancy Gray Beard is dioecious, although some plants many also have perfect flowers. The flowers on male plants are showier than those on female plants. The flower has 4 sepals and 4 linear white petals. The flowers are fragrant. The fruit is a blue/black drupe. Grancy Gray Beard is a popular ornamental and is often available from nurseries. It prefers a well-draining soil in full to partial sun. Grancy Gray Beard seed require 2 years to germinate. Removing the hard endocarp surround the seed increases the rate and percentage of germination. The common name Grancy Gray Beard is thought to be a corruption of “Grandfather’s Gray Beard” or “Grand Sire’s Gray Beard”. --A. Diamond
Taxonomic Notes:**
Status:Native, FACU (NWI), G5 (Global Rank)
References:**
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilyOLEACEAE - Olive family
Genus Chionanthus
Species Chionanthus virginicus L. - White Fringetree; Old Man's Beard; Grancy Gray Beard

Citation

Citation Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 8. 1753.
Basionym: **
Type: USA: VIRGINIA: Without data (lectotype: LINN 21.1). Lectotypified by J.L. Reveal, in C.E. Jarvis et al., Regnum Veg. 127: 33. 1993.

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Chionanthus henryae Chionanthus henryae Li, Morris Arbor. Bull. 17: 63. 1966. FLORIDA: Okaloosa Co.: Live Oak Creek, ca. 10 mi. N of Mary Esther, 21 Apr 1941, Henry 2671 (holotype: PH).
Chionanthus heterophylus Chionanthus heterophylus Rafinesque, New Fl. 3: 87. 1838 ("1836").  
Chionanthus longifolius Chionanthus longifolius Rafinesque, New Fl. 3: 88. 1838 ("1836"). "Louisiana and Texas"
Chionanthus maritimus Chionanthus maritimus Rafinesque, New Fl. 3: 86. 1838 ("1836"), nom. illegit.Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, var. maritimus Pursh 1814, nom. illegit.; Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, var. angustifolius Aiton 1789. 
Chionanthus maritimus var. rhombifolius Chionanthus maritimus Rafinesque, var. rhombifolius Rafinesque, New Fl. 3: 87. 1838 ("1836"). DELAWARE
Chionanthus montanus Chionanthus montanus Rafinesque, New Fl. 3: 87. 1838 ("1836").Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, var. latifolius Aiton 1789. 
Chionanthus obovatus Chionanthus obovatus Rafinesque, New Fl. 3: 87. 1838 ("1836"). ALABAMA
Chionanthus trifidus Chionanthus trifidus Moench, Methodus 478. 1794, nom. illegit.Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus 1753. 
Chionanthus triflorus Chionanthus triflorus Stokes, Bot. Mat. Med. 1: 19. 1812, nom. illegit.Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus 1753. 
Chionanthus vernalis Chionanthus vernalis Salisbury, Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton 14. 1796, nom. illegit.Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus 1753. 
Chionanthus virginicus subsp. maritimus Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, subsp. maritimus E. Murray, Kalmia 12: 19. 1982.Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, var. maritimus Pursh 1814, nom. illegit.; Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, var. angustifolius Aiton 1789. 
Chionanthus virginicus var. angustifolius Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, var. angustifolius Aiton, Hort. Kew. 1: 14. 1789.  
Chionanthus virginicus var. latifolius Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, var. latifolius Aiton, Hort. Kew. 1: 14. 1789.  
Chionanthus virginicus var. maritimus Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, var. maritimus Pursh, Fl. Amer. Sept. 8. 1814, nom. illegit.Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, var. angustifolius Aiton 1789. 
Chionanthus virginicus var. montanus Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, var. montanus Pursh, Fl. Amer. Sept. 8. 1814, nom. illegit.Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, var. latifolius Aiton 1789. 
Chionanthus virginicus var. pubescens Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, var. pubescens Dippel, Handb. Laubholzk. 1: 143. 1889.  
Chionanthus virginicus var. pubescens Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, var. pubescens Bean, Trees Shrubs 1: 341. 1914, non Dippel 1889.  
Chionanthus angustifolius Chionanthus angustifolius (Aiton) Rafinesque, New Fl. 3: 88. 1838 ("1836").Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus, var. angustifolius Aiton 1789. 

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Escambia, Etowah, Franklin, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Washington, Wilcox, Winston

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AUA, JSU, SAMF, TROY, UNA, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: 1872 - 2019

Barcode / Accession No.
County
Coll. Date
Collector &
Collection No.
Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used
Image
UWAL0046970 Autauga 04 Apr 2017 Parker, Matthew R.
545		 UWAL
Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus
TROY000045043 Autauga 04 Apr 2017 Parker, Matthew R.
545		 TROY
Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus
TROY000047747 Autauga 03 Apr 2018 Parker, Matthew R.
1573		 TROY
Chionanthus virginicus Linnaeus
AUA_ACC_45862 Baldwin 22 Apr 1971 WIDDER, E.J.
89		 AUA
CHIONANTHUS VIRGINICUS L.
UWAL0050653 Baldwin 14 Apr 1973 Villadsen, Martha
122		 UWAL
Chionanthus virginicus L.
AUA_ACC_47380 Baldwin 15 Apr 1973 CAMPBELL, BENNY
126		 AUA
CHIONANTHUS VIRGINICUS L.
UWAL0042929 Baldwin 10 Apr 2001 Larsen, Harry S.
675		 UWAL
Chionanthus virginicus L.
UWAL0042930 Baldwin 04 Jun 2003 Larsen, Harry S.
1227		 UWAL
Chionanthus virginicus L.
AUA_ACC_21596 Barbour 22 Apr 1942 HENRY, MARY G.
3377		 AUA
CHIONANTHUS VIRGINICUS L.
AUA_ACC_12725 Barbour 17 Apr 1966 WILSON, J.R.
 AUA
CHIONANTHUS VIRGINICUS L.
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