Personal Bio:

Faculty Bio: Mary began working at MB in 1979 in the lower school music department, and led the chorus group and many concerts in the lower school. She loved what she did, and served as a mentor for many, including fellow teachers. Mary Pollart passed away in 2017, a year after her 2016 retirement. Mary said on her retirement, "It has been very gratifying to teach in such a strong and wonderful academic setting, which values the arts as an important part of the curriculum. MB truly is a very special school!”

White Fringe:

Scientific Name

Chionanthus virginicus

Family

Oleaceae

Description

American fringetree is a small, native, deciduous tree with a multi-stemmed, open, and rounded to spreading habit that can also be trained to a single trunk.

Leaves are opposite, simple, 3–8 inches long, wide and spear-shaped to narrow elliptical or obovate, dark green and smooth above with a hairy underside, edges entire; tip pointed, turning a clear yellow color in autumn.

Bark is dark brown and scaly, developing distinct ridges separated by reddish furrows that offer winter interest.

Twigs are sturdy and smooth (implied by genus/family), featuring prominent leaf buds and growing approximately 6 to 10 inches each year.

Flowers April–May, stalk hanging in large paniculate clusters 4–8 inches long, produced on the previous year's growth as the leaves emerge; flowers delicately fragrant, ivory to creamy white with long, ribbon-like or fringe-like petals.

Fruits July–September, produced in hanging clusters; fruit less than 1 inch long, an olive-like round drupe, maturing from green to a showy dark blue or bluish-black, containing a solitary stone.

Other Common Names

White Fringe

Size

Height: 12 ft. 0 in. - 30 ft. 0 in.

Source: North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox