OLEACEAE 



Red Ash 



Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh. 



HABIT. A small to medium-sized tree 30-50 feet high and 

 1-2 feet in diameter (max. 85 by 3 feet); broad, irregular crown. 



LEAVES. 10-12 inches long; 7-9 leaflets, oblong-lanceolate 

 to elliptic, 4-6 inches long, entire or finely toothed, yellow- 

 green above, paler and silky hairy below, with petiolule Yq- 

 14 inch long. 



FLOWERS. In compact panicles; dioecious; corolla absent; 

 appearing with leaves. 



FRUIT. Lanceolate; 1-2!^ inches long; wing extending to 

 middle of terete, slender seed cavity; persistent through winter. 



TWIGS. Rounded; rather stout; red-gray; pale-hairy; leaf 

 scar not notched. Winter buds: small, rounded, red-brown, 

 woolly, set above leaf scar. 



BARK. Thin; brown; shallow fissures and scaly ridges. 



WOOD. Important; heavy; hard; ring-porous; like white ash. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Intolerant; moist sites, but 

 hardy on dry sites; rapid growth; shallow roots. 



* * * 

 Green Ash 



Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. lanceolata (Borkh.) Sarg. 



This variety, considered a distinct species by some authors 

 and not given variety status by others, is the most widely dis- 

 tributed of the ashes and second in importance to white ash. 

 While typical specimens can be readily identified, it is sometimes 

 impossible to distinguish certain individuals from red or white 

 ash. Green ash diff"ers from red ash in having: 



1. Glabrous leaves, petioles, and twigs. 



2. Narrower, more sharply serrate, bright green leaflets. 



3. Leaf scars truncate below the bud. 



* * * 

 Pumpkin Ash 



Fraxinus profunda (Bush) Bush {Fraxinus tomentosa Michx.) 



This unimportant species of river or coastal swamps ranges 

 from New York to Indiana and Missouri and south. It differs 

 from F. pennsylvanica in having fruits 2-3 inches long and often 

 J4 inch wide and a much enlarged swollen base. 



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