HOP TREE; WAFER ASH (Ptelea trifoliata, Linn.). Shrub to 

 25 feet. Slender tree with round head of spreading branches 

 ending in downy twigs. Bark with warty excrescences; twigs 

 with prominent leaf scars. Wood hard, close-grained, heavy, 

 yellow-brown. Leaves compound, of 3 sessile, ovate, taper- 

 ing, serrate leaflets, on a long petiole; dark green, at first 

 downy, 4 to 6 inches long, turning yellow in autumn. Flow- 

 ers in terminal clusters, small, mixed, inconspicuous. Fruit 

 clustered, pale green until ripe, circular, winged samara, like 

 elm seeds, but larger, often 1 inch across. Showy. Dist.: 

 Rocky slopes, in forest shade, Long Island to Florida; west to 

 Minnesota, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico. 



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