OLIVE FAMILY. 281 



O. Americana, DEVIL-WOOD. Wild along the coast from Virginia S. : 

 small tree, with lance-oblong and entire very smooth green leaves (3' -6' long), 

 and spherical fruit. 



O. fragrans, or OSMANTHUS FRAGRANS, of Japan and China (differing 

 from Olive genus in the almost 4-parted corolla and 2-parted style), cult, in 

 green-houses for the exquisite fragrance of its very small flowers ; the leaves 

 oblong or oval, sharply serrate, bright green, very smooth. 



6. CHIONANTHUS, FRINGE-TREE. (Name of the Greek words for 

 snow and blossom, from the very light and loose panicles of drooping snow- 

 white flowers.) 



C. Virginica, COMMON F. River-banks fr&m Penn. S., and planted for 

 ornament: shrub or low tree, with entire oval or obovate leaves (3' -5' long), 

 the lower surface often rather downy, loose panicles of flowers in late spring or 

 early summer, petals 1' long, and fruit blue-purple with a bloom. 



7. FRAXINTJS, ASH. (Classical Latin name.) Timber-trees, with light 

 and tough wood, dark-colored buds, and small insignificant flowers appearing 

 in spring with or rather before the leaves of the season, from separate buds in 

 the axils of the leaves of the preceding year. 



1. EUROPEAN ASHES, planted as shade trees, Sf-c. : flowers polygamous. 



P. Ornus, FLOWERING ASH, of S. Europe, the tree which furnishes manna, 

 not hardy N., sometimes planted S. : this and a species like it in California have 

 4 petals, either distinct or slightly united, or sometimes only 2, narrow, green- 

 ish ; leaflets 5-9, lanceolate or oblong, small. 



P. excelsior, ENGLISH or EUROPEAN ASH. Hardy fine tree, with bright 

 green lance-oblong leaflets nearly sessile and serrate ; petals none and calyx 

 hardly any ; fruit flat, linear-oblong. The WEEPING ASH is a variety or sport 

 of this. 



2. AMERICAN ASHES, all destitute of petals, and dioecious or mostly so. 



# Fruit terete at the base, winged from the other end: calyx minute, persistent : 



leaflets 7 - 9, or sometimes 5, stalked, either sparingly toothed or entire. 



P. Americana, WHITE ASH. Large forest tree of low grounds, furnish- 

 ing valuable timber ; with ash-gray branches, smooth stalks, ovate or lance- 

 oblong pointed leaflets either pale or downy beneath ; and rather short fruit 

 with a terete marginless body and a lanceolate or wedge-linear wing. 



P. pubescens, RED ASH. Common E. & S. ; known by its velvety- 

 pubescent young shoots and leafstalks, and fruit with its flattish 2-edged seed- 

 bearing body acute at the base, the edges gradually dilated into the lance-linear 

 or oblanceolate wing. 



P. viridis, GREEN ASH. Like the last, into which it seems to pass, but 

 is smooth, with leaves bright green on both sides : a smaller tree, most common 

 W. &S. 



* * Fruit flat and winged all round: leaflets mostly green both sides and serrate. 

 P. sambucifblia, BLACK ASH. Small tree in swamps, N. & N. W., 



with tough wood separable in layers, used for hoops and coarse baskets ; the 

 bruised leaves with the scent of Elder : smooth ; leaflets 7-11, sessile on the 

 main stalk, oblong-lanceolate tapering to a point ; calyx none, at least in the 

 fertile flowers ; fruits linear-oblong. 



P. quadrangulata, BLUE ASH. Large forest tree W., yielding valuable 

 wood ; with square branchlets, 5-9 ovate veiny leaflets on short stalks, and 

 narrowly oblong fruits. 



P. platycarpa, CAROLINA WATER-ASH. River swamps S. : small tree, 

 with terete branchlets, 5-7 ovate or oblong short-stalked leaflets acute at both 

 ends, and broadly winged (sometimes 3-winged) fruits, oblong with a tapering 

 base. 



S & F 23 



