Fraximis crcclaior, 

 THE EUROPEAN ASII-TREE. 



Si/m>ni/mcs. 



Fraxintts excelsior, 



Frene eleve, Frene commun, Grand 



Irene, 

 Esche, Aesche, 

 Frassino, Frassine, Nocione, 

 Ash, 

 European ash, 



' LiNNAUs, Sj)ccies Plantarum. 

 3I1C11AUX, North American Sylva. 

 Selby, Hritish Forest Trees. 

 Loi.'DoN, Arboretum Britannicum. 



France. 



Germany. 

 Italy. 

 Britain. 

 Anglo-America. 



Derivation. The specific name excelsior is derived from ihe Latin ei, from, and cello, to lift up, and signifies Uller, or 

 more elevated, from the superior height which this species attains. 



Engravings. Michaux, North American Sylva, pi. 121 ; Selby, British Forest Trees, pp. 84, 86 el 101 ; Loudon, Arboretum 

 Britannicum, ii., figs. 1CH4 et 1015, and vi., pi. 202, 203 et 204; and the figures below. 



Specific Characters. Leaflets almost sessile, lanceolate-oblong, acuminate, serrated, cuneated at the base. 

 Flowers naked. Samara obliquely emarginate at the apex. Don, Miller's Diet. 



Description. 



"The a!9h asks not a depth of fruitful mould, 

 But. like frugality, on little means 

 It thrives; and high o'er creviced ruins spreads 

 Its ample shade, or in the naked rock, 

 That nods in air, with graceful limbs depends." 



BiDLAKE. 



HE Fraxinus ex- 

 celsior is one of 

 the noblest trees 

 *^^' of the European 

 forests. In a close grove, and in a free, 

 deep soil, it becomes a lofty tree, from f^ 

 eighty to one hundred feet in height, with | 

 a trunk free from branches for more than 

 half its length. Standing singly, it throws 

 5ut large limbs, which divide into numer- 

 ous branches, forming a full spreading 

 head, with a short, but very thick trunk. In some situations, particularly on 

 rocky steeps, the branches of old trees become pendent ; but, in most cases of old 

 trees of this species, there is a tendency in the extremities of the lower branches 

 to curve upwards. The bark is of a dark-gray, when young, and ash-coloured 

 as the tree advances in age. The roots, which are numerous and take a hor- 

 izontal direction, are furnished with more fibres than those of most other forest 

 trees. Both fibres and roots are white, which, indeed, is the case in all the olea- 

 ceae. The buds are short, oval, obtuse, and constantly black ; and, by this last 

 circdmstance, this tree is easily distinguished from the American species. The 

 leaves are opposite, and are composed of from five to thirteen leaflets, slightly 

 pedicellate, smooth, oval, acuminated, and serrated. The common petiole is 

 semi-cylindrical, with a channel on the upper side. The flowers, which put 

 forth in March and April, are produced in long, loose spikes, from the sides of 

 the brancheH. On some there are only female flowers ; on others, hermaphrodite. 



