Fraxinus excelsior. 
THE EUROPEAN ASH-TREE. 
Synonymes. 
Fraxinus excelsior, 
Frene eleve, Frene commun, Grand 
frene, 
Esche, Aesche, 
Frassino, Frassine, Nocione, 
Ash, 
European ash, 
' Linnjeus, Species Plantarum. 
Michaux, North American Sylva. 
Seley, British Forest Trees. 
Loi;don, Arboretum Britannicum. 
Fkance. 
Germany. 
Italy. 
Britain. 
Anglo-America. 
Derivation. The specific name excelsior is derived from the Latin ex, from, and cello, to lift up, and signifies taller, or 
more elevated, from the superior height which this species attains. 
Engravings. Michaur, North American Sylva, pi. 121 ; Selby, British Forest Trees, pp. 84, 86 et 101 ; Loudon, Arboretum 
Britannicum, ii., figs. 1044 et 1045, and vi., pi. 202, 203 et 204; and the figures below. 
Specific Characters. Leaflets almost sessile, lanceolate-oblong, acuminate, serrated, cuneated at the base. 
Flowers naked. Samara obliquely emarginate at the apex. Don, Miller's Diet. 
Description. 
"The ash asks not a depth of fruitful mould, 
But, like frugality, on little means 
It thrives; and high o'er creviced ruins spreads 
Its ample shade, or in the naked rock, 
That nods in air, with graceful limbs depends." 
BlDLAKE 
HE Fraxinus ex- 
celsior is one of 
the noblest trees 
^P"^ of the European 
forests. In a close grove, and in a free, 
deep soil, it becomes a lofty tree, from 
eighty to one hundred feet in height, with 
a trunk free from branches for more than 
half its length. Standing singly, it throws 
Dut large limbs, which divide into numer- 
ous branches, forming a full spreading 
head, with a short, but very thick trunk. In some situations, particularly on 
rocky steeps, the branches of old trees become pendent ; but, in most cases of old 
trees of this species, there is a tendency in the extremities of the lower branches 
to curve upwards. The bark is of a dark-gray, when young, and ash-coloured 
as the tree advances in age. The roots, which are numerous and take a hor- 
izontal direction, are furnished with more fibres than those of most other forest 
trees. Both fibres and roots are white, which, indeed, is the case in all the olea- 
ceae. The buds are short, oval, obtuse, and constantly black; and, by this last 
circumstance, this tree is easily distinguished from the American species. The 
leaves are opposite, and are composed of from five to thirteen leaflets, slightly 
pedicellate, smooth, oval, acuminated, and serrated. The common petiole is 
semi-cylindrical, with a channel on the upper side. The flowers, which put 
forth in March and April, are produced in long, loose spikes, from the sides of 
the branches. On some there are onlv female flowers ; on others, hermaphrodite 
