White Fringe Tree vs Water Arum - TreeTime.ca

White Fringe Tree vs Water Arum

Chionanthus virginicus

Calla palustris

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

CUSTOM GROW

White Fringe Tree
Water Arum

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.

Water Arum is a native perennial wetland plant known for its showy white oval sheaths (spathe) that surround a yellow-green, cylindrical flower spike (spadix). It has large, oblong, heart-shaped leaves on stems that rise above the water from shallow, spreading rhizomes. The blossoms are followed in late summer by tiny, pear-shaped fruits that ripen to bright red, adding ornamental interest to wet habitats.

Water Arum provides food for birds and small mammals that eat its berries, and its flowers attract pollinators. It can tolerate cold climates and forms colonies in shallow water and saturated soils. It is well-suited for ecological restoration, riparian planting, naturalisation, and habitat projects in wet and shaded environments.

White Fringe Tree Quick Facts

Water Arum Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 1b
Height: 5 m (15 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Spread: 5 m (15 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: shade, partial shade
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: wet
Growth rate: slow
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: colony-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - low
Suckering: medium


Toxicity: toxic if ingested
Flowers: fragrant, white clusters
Flowers: white sheath around and yellow spike
Bloom time: spring to summer
Berries: blue to black
Berries: red, in clusters
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, PE
Other Names: american fringe tree, american fringetree, fringe tree, fringetree, north american fringe tree, white fringetree
Other Names: bog arum, swamp lily, wild calla, wild dragon