White Ash Fraxinus americana Olive Family — Ash Genus

Identification

Size: Large tree with straight trunk and dense, conical (sometimes rounded) crown of leaves with whitish undersurfaces; 80 feet tall; two foot diameter

Range: Most states east of the Mississippi Valley; southern Ontario east to New Brunswick, south to north Florida, west to east Texas, north to east Minnesota; at elevations up to 2000 feet in the north, 5000 feet in the south

Habitat: moist soils in valleys and slopes, especially deep, well-drained loams; in forests mixed with other hardwoods

Leaves: opposite, 10 inches long, compound, with 5 to 9 leaflets. Lealets are 3 to 5 inches long, stalked, smooth or faintly toothed on margins, smooth and dark green above, silvery-white below.

Flowers: two kinds: pollen-bearing occur in dense, reddish-purple clusters; seed-producing in loose drooping clusters.

Fruit: a winged seed 1 to 2 inches long. The wing is long, narrow, attached to the end of the seed. Seeds are grouped in loose droopinmg clusters.

Bark: grayish-brown, rather thick, soom becomes rough, dividing into smooth plates.

Buds: opposite, egg-shaped, dark brown, blunt-pointed. Terminal buds are larger than laterals.

Wood: very heavy, hard, tough, elastic, with light sapwood and brownish heartwood. Widely used for athletic equipment, agricultural implements, tools, furniture, interior finishing.

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Champion Trees and Ancient Forests — www.championtrees.org — updated: 7/14/2002