Chionanthus

Chionanthus (), common name: fringetrees, is a genus of about 140 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae.

right|thumb|Chionanthus virginicus flowers right|thumb|Chionanthus pubescens right|thumb|Chionanthus retusus flowers The genus has a wide distribution primarily in the tropics and subtropics, but with three species extending north into temperate regions, one (C. retusus) in eastern Asia and two (C. virginicus and C. henryae) in eastern North America. Most of the tropical species are evergreen, while the three temperate species are deciduous. Some botanists restrict Chionanthus to the deciduous, temperate species, treating the evergreen species in a separate genus Linociera, but apart from leaf persistence, there is no other consistent difference between them.