CHAP. VIII.] 



OLEINE.E. 



139 



The fruit is what is called a samara or key ; 

 that is, it is furnished with a membrane-like 

 wing so as to resemble a dry leaf. It is two- 

 celled, but very frequently only one-seeded. 

 The shape of the keys, and the manner in which 

 they grow, is shown 

 at a va. Jig. 67; and 

 the leaves, at b. The 

 leaves are opposite 

 and generally pin- 

 nate, with five or six 

 pairs of leaflets ; but 

 there is one species 

 with simple leaves 

 { Fr. simplicifolia ) . 

 The Weeping Ash 

 is only an accidental variety of the common 

 kind. The leaves of the Ash come out late 

 and fall early ; but the tree may easily be 

 recognised when quite bare by the greyness 

 of its bark and its black buds. It will grow 

 in any soil ; but it is injurious to arable land, 

 from its roots spreading widely near the surface. 

 The Manna, or flowering Ash, {Ornus euro- 

 pcBus), differs widely from the common Ash in 

 its flowers, which are white, with a corolla 

 divided into four long narrow segments. The 

 two stamens have long filaments, with a small 

 pistil (c), the stigma of which is notched. The 



Fig. 67 — American Ash (Fraxinus 

 americana). 



