White Fringe Tree vs Yellow Mountain Avens - TreeTime.ca

White Fringe Tree vs Yellow Mountain Avens

Dryas drummondii

Chionanthus virginicus

CUSTOM GROW

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Yellow Mountain Avens
White Fringe Tree

Yellow Mountain Avens is a native perennial wildflower with bright yellow buttercup-like blooms. The nectar-rich flowers attract a variety of pollinators, including bees and butterflies. By thriving at higher elevations, it helps sustain pollinator populations and provides one of the earliest sources of nectar and pollen in alpine habitats. After the blooms fade, the plant produces silky seed heads that begin as upright, compact tufts and gradually expand into rounded, fluffy clusters, adding texture and interest to the landscape.

As a nitrogen-fixing plant, Yellow Mountain Avens enriches soil fertility and supports the growth of surrounding vegetation. It forms dense, spreading mats of evergreen foliage that act as a groundcover and help stabilize soil. Often among the first species to establish in disturbed alpine sites such as glacial outwash or landslides, it is well-suited for alpine revegetation, erosion control, naturalization, and ecological restoration projects in harsh, rocky environments.

White Fringe Tree is known for its fringe-like white flowers. It can either grow as a small tree or a large multistemmed shrub. The White Fringe Tree has separate male and female plants. Both male and female flowers have white fringe-like petals, but the male flowers are longer and showier. The female flowers give way to clusters of dark blue to black berries. These berries are not edible for humans but attract birds and other wildlife.

The White Fringe Tree is tolerant of clay soils, saline soils, and air pollution but does not do well in prolonged dry conditions.

Yellow Mountain Avens Quick Facts

White Fringe Tree Quick Facts

Zone: 1b
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Height: 5 m (15 ft)
Spread: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 5 m (15 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: mat-forming, creeping
Spreading: stolons - medium, seeds - low
Suckering: medium


Foliage: evergreen, leathery
Flowers: yellow, buttercup-like, nodding
Flowers: fragrant, white clusters
Bloom time: spring to summer
Berries: blue to black
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, ON, QC, NB, NL, YT, NT
Other Names: drummonds dryad, drummonds mountain avens, yellow dryad
Other Names: american fringe tree, american fringetree, fringe tree, fringetree, north american fringe tree, white fringetree