Ash Tree

Kingdom	Plantae
unranked	Angiosperms
unranked	Eudicots
Order	Lamiales
Family	Oleaceae
Genus	Fraxinus
Species	F. americana
Binomial name	Fraxinus americana

Other Common Names:

The other common names for the ash tree are American Ash, Biltmore Ash, Cane Ash, Common Ash, European Ash, Weeping Ash and White Ash.

History

The White Ash tree, Fraxinus Americana, is a handsome native tree. It develops an open and rather round topped crown in its old age. This is the largest of the ash trees in North America. Mature trunks can reach almost 6 feet in diameter.

The size and value of White Ash trees makes this one of the primary commercial hardwoods in the United States. The white ash is a sturdy tree common to much of the United States, and is easily identified through its compound leaves, with small flowers coming in panicles from the axils of the preceding year's leaves. The genus name Fraxinus is the ancient Latin name, and the meaning of the species name, americana, is obvious.

Description

White ash has a strong framework with stout main branches growing upright and smaller branches spreading outward. The bark of mature trees is dark brown and deeply fissured by interlacing ridges forming a characteristic diamond pattern. Ashes have opposite branching and their pinnately compound leaves are arranged along the branchlets in opposing pairs, with an odd leaflet at the end. The leaves of white ash are 8-14 in long and have 5, 7 or 9 (usually 7) leaflets, each 3-5 in long and pointed at the tip.

They are thin and papery and dark green above and whitish beneath, turning shades of yellow, red or purple in autumn. White ash is dioecious - male and female flowers are on separate trees. The little petalless flowers appear just before the leaves unfold in early spring. They are arranged in hanging clusters and not very showy. The fruits, produced in late summer, are winged samaras about 2 in (5.1 cm) long, borne in crowded hanging clusters. They are thin and papery and look a little like dragonfly wings. Female trees produce hundreds of messy seeds and should be avoided.

Range

The White Ash (Fraxinus americana) is one of the largest of the ash genus, Fraxinus. Native to eastern North American hardwood forests, it is a tree of mesophytic forests from Quebec to northern Florida. They are also confined to the finest soils of the Tennessee and Ohio River Valleys.

Habitat

This one occurs in well-drained soils along rivers and on lower slopes in mixed forests. White ash never occurs in pure stands and is rarely a dominant tree in the forest; it grows in small groups or singly with other forest trees such as red maple. White ash is quite tolerant of salt (but not highly exposed beach front conditions), and is well suited to the coastal garden.

Cultivation

Alkaline and moist soils, along the edges of woods and well-aerated grasslands where common ash can take up a lot of space to grow. White ash is easy to grow and adaptable, although it reaches its full height (well above 100 feet) only in moist, deep, well-drained soils in full sun. It dislikes dry or rocky soils. Sow ash seed outdoors as soon as it is collected in the fall. Germination will occur in spring. Seeds that have been stored require 2-3 months of cold stratification. Cultivars are grafted onto seedling rootstock.

Flowering Season

The green to purple colour plain flowers of the ash tree are in bloom in early spring.

Pests and Diseases

The emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis, a wood-boring beetle introduced from eastern Asia accidentally with ash wood products in about 1998, threatens some 7 billion ash trees in the United States. It is susceptible to many diseases when grown in poor conditions but relatively pest free when properly placed. There are no resistant varieties. Among the common ash trees, White Ash is the most likely to encounter a problem during its lifetime, although most trees live a long and healthy life. Borers and scales are occasional pests, leaf anthracnose is a frequent cosmetic disease of the leaves when wet springs occur, and trunk canker is an occasional disease of the bark and cambium.

Parts Used

The leaves, mature seeds and the inner bark are the most commonly used parts of the tree for its commercial and medicinal value.

Medicinal Applications

• The bark of the ash tree is used as a tonic and an astringent.

• The leaves are also astringent, and they have a laxative and diuretic effect.

• They have been used as a mild substitute for senna.

• Even the seeds were used: as an aphrodisiac, a diuretic, an appetite stimulant, and a remedy for fevers.

• A tea made from the bark as a treatment for an itching scalp and sores, and a leaf tea as a vermifuge, or agent that expels worms from the body.

• It was also used to stop minor bleeding; as an emetic, to promote vomiting; and for a variety of other purposes.

• The sap of the tree is used to treat external cancerous growths.

Commercial Applications

• It makes a good shade tree and an excellent city tree.

• The wood is hard, tough and very strong but elastic, extensively used for tool handles, quality wooden baseball bats, hurleys and other uses demanding high strength and resilience.

• It also makes excellent firewood.

• The wood is also extensively used for non-impact tool handles, furniture, hockey sticks, polo mallets, church pews and other products too varied and numerous to mention.