1218 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART IIt, 
¥ F. e. 12 horizontalis Desf., Pers. Ench., i. p. 604., Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, 
the horizontal-branched Ash, has the branches spreading horizontally. 
¥ F. e. 13 verrucosa Desf., Pers. Ench., i. p. 604., Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, 
the warted-barked Ash, has the branches warted. 
¥ F. e. 14 verrucosa péndula, — A tree of this variety in the Horticultural 
Society’s Garden was, in 1835, 10 ft. high, after being 16 years 
planted. 
4% F.e. 15 nana Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, F. e. humilis Hort., the dwarf 
Ash, seldom exceeds 3 ft. in height, but there is a plant in the Hor- 
ticultural Society’s Garden, bearing this name, which is 7 ft. high, 
and its stem immediately above the graft is 4in. in diameter. The 
leaves of this variety resemble those of the common ash, but the 
leaflets are much smaller and closer together. 
¥ F. ec. 16 fungosa Lodd, Cat., ed. 1836. The fungous-barked Ash. 
¥ F. e. 17 verticillata Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836. The whorled-leaved Ash. 
¥ F. e. 18 villosa nova Descemet is a seedling, discovered accidentally, of 
which there are plants in the Odessa collection. 
Other Varieties. In addition to the above varieties of the common ash, 
there are several names in the Catalogue of Messrs. Loddiges, and in the 
collection in the Chiswick Garden, which will be found in an appendix to 
this article. The plants to which these names apply, are, for the most 
part, small, or crowded among other trees or shrubs ; so that we have been 
unable to determine whether they are truly distinct or not. 
Description. The common ash is one of the noblest of our forest trees. 
In a close grove, and in a free deep soil, it becomes one of the loftiest of 
British trees, with a trunk free from branches to a great height. Standing 
singly, it throws out large limbs, which divide into numerous branches, form- 
ing a full spreading head, with a short, but very thick, trunk. In some situa- 
tions, particularly on rocky steeps, the branches on old trees become pendent ; 
but, as in all cases of old ash trees whatever, as Sir J. E. Smith observes, there 
is a tendency in the extremities of the lower branches to curve upwards, The 
bark is ash-coloured when old, and dark grey when young The budsare short, 
oval, obtuse, and constantly black : and, by this last circumstance, the common 
ash is easily distinguished from the American species. The leaves are opposite, 
and are composed of from 5 to 13 leaflets, slightly pedicellate, smooth, oval, 
acuminated and serrated. The common petioleis semicylindrical, with a channel 
on the upper side. The roots are numerous, and take a horizontal direction ; 
and they are furnished with more fibres than those of most other forest trees. 
Both fibres and roots are white, which, indeed, is the case with the roots of 
all the Oleaceze. If the tree is planted in good soil, it grows rapidly when 
young, attaining the height of 15 ft. and upwards in 10 years. The height of 
full-grown trees, in the most favourable situations, is from 80 ft. to 100 ft., 
and their duration several centuries. No deciduous tree whatever, in culti- 
vation in British plantations, is more injurious to plants growing under it, than 
the ash; from its numerous fibrous roots, which, rising close to the surface, 
exhaust the soil, and prevent the vegetation of almost every other plant, 
except those that have also fibrous roots. 
Geography. The common ash is indigenous to central Europe, to Sweden, to 
Norway, to Russia, to the south of Europe, to the north of Africa, and to Japan; 
and there is a species in America (the white American ash) which closely re- 
sembles it in many respects, except that it has whitish buds instead of black 
ones. In Britain, the ash is found in most parts of the island, from Ross-shire 
to Cornwall. It always grows best in good, somewhat calcareous, soil ; which, 
though not boggy, is generally adjoining water. Its most favourite situations 
are on the steep rocky banks of rivers, or on the sides of glens, at the base 
of which, where there is generally a great depth of soil, and a stream not 
very distant, the tree attains its largest size. The most profitable age for 
felling the ash appears to be from 80 to 100 years. It will continue pushing 
from stools or from pollards, for above 100 years. 
