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White Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) an olive relative.

 
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Posts: 5826
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio,Price Hill 45205
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So I saw this plant today.
Big fat berries with a giant seed, almost no flesh.
White Fringetree  is said to be a relative of the olive, and could be treated as such.
The lack of flesh and large amount of seed  makes these disappointing, but it made me wonder, are the pits of olives edible?
Well, maybe?
It's not a traditional thing, people will swallow a few here and there.
Rather than pursuing that weak lead it occured to me to ask if olive oil was made with the whole olive.
It is, the whole fruit is mashed up.
So, maybe White Fringetree could be a perennial oil seed, hardy  down to zone 3.
IMG_20250917_143424399_AE.jpg
White Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus)?
White Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus)?
 
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Location: Semi-nomadic, main place coastal mid-Norway, latitude 64 north
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Has anyone tried doing anything with these? Brine like olives, press for oil, anything else? I've been intrigued about this tree for a bit, and am considering getting some plants (having failed to grow them from seed). It would be awesome to have something that works like an olive and can grow here.

So far I've only seen anecdotal reports that it's supposed to be useable in the same way as olives, and one forager who said he nibbled some a few times but was put off by the bitter taste. Now, as anyone who tasted unbrined olives knows, they too are horribly bitter, so that in itself doesn't necessarily disqualify fringetree fruit. What do you all think? Is it worth it getting some of these even if I'm not totally certain they are in fact useable?
 
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