ee 
CHAP. LXXV. OLEA‘CEH. FRA‘XINUS, 1235 
= 
\ the upper surface, and coated with red 


\ down on the main ribs beneath. When 
Vi bruised, they emit an odour like that of 
~ \ the leaves of the elder. The samaras re- 
Si \ Y semble those of the blue ash (/. quadran- 
“SA \ i gulata), and are nearly as broad at the 
y 
UU 
ij 
base as at the summit. The black ash is 
easily distinguished from 1058 
the white ash by its bark, 
which is of a duller hue, 
less deeply furrowed, and 
has the layers of the epi- 
dermis applied in broad 
sheets. The tree is 
found in the northern 
section of the United 
States, and in the pro- 
vinces of New Bruns- 
ee wick and Nova Scotia, 
=" in great abundance, in the 
\ forests. It is generall 
found on a moist soil, and usually accompanied by the red maple (A‘cer 
rubrum), the yellow birch (2étula ltitea), the black spruce (A‘bies nigra), 
and the arbor vite (Z'hija occidentalis). In the middle states of the Union, 
this tree associates with the A‘cer rubrum and F’. pubéscens (No. 10. p.1233.). 
Its timber is used for some of the purposes of the white ash; compared with 
which, its wood is tougher and more elastic, but less durable when exposed to 
the vicissitudes of dryness and moisture. In the district of Maine, it is pre- 
ferred to the white ash for hoops; and, as the wood separates readily into thin 
narrow strips, it is used for making chair bottoms, and corn-riddles; as the 
common ash is in Britain, and more particularly in Scotland. The black ash 
is liable to be disfigured with knobs in the trunk, which are sometimes de- 
tached to make bowls, and which, when polished, exhibit curious undulations 
of fibre. This sort, like most of the other kinds of ash, is also very prolific 
in potash. Plants, in the London nurseries, are 1s. 6d. each, and seeds 4s. 
per quart. 

#12. F(a.) quapRANGULA‘TA Michx. The quadrangular-branched Ash. 
Identification. Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 2. p. 255., and N. Amer. Syl., 3. p. 73. ; Willd. Sp., 4. p. 1104. 5 
Vahl Enum., 1. p. 50.; Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept., 1. p. 8.; Don’s Miill., 4. p. 55. 
Synonymes. F. tetragona Cels ex Dum. Cours.; F. quadrangularis Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836.; blue Ash, 
Amer. 
Engravings. Michx. N, Amer. Syl., 3. t.123.; and our figs. 1959, 1060. 
Spec. Char., §c. Leaflets almost sessile, elliptic-lanceolate, serrated, downy 
beneath. Samara blunt at both ends. Branches quadrangular. (Don’s Mill., 
iv.p.55.) A tree, from 63 ft. to 70 ft. high; a native of Ohio, Kentucky, 
and Tennessee. It was introduced in 1823, and flowers in May. 
Variety. 
# F. (a.) 9.2 nervosa Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, has the leaves with conspicuous 
nerves. 
Description, §c. The blue ash, in the United States, Michaux observes, 
“ frequently exceeds 60 ft. or 70ft. in height, and 18 in. or 20 in. in diameter. 
Its leaves are from 12 in. to 18 in. long, and are composed of 2, 3, or 4 pairs 
of leaflets, with an odd one. The leaflets are large, smooth, oval-acuminate, 
distinctly toothed, and supported by short petiolules. The young shoots to 
which the leaves are attached are distinguished by 4 opposite membranes, 3 
or 4 lines broad, and of a greenish colour, extending through their whole 
length. This character disappears in the third or fourth year, leaving only the 
traces of its existence. The seeds are flat from one extremity to the other, 
and a little narrowed towards the base.” The blue ash is found only in 
4M 3 
