302 LI. OLEINEiE. [Fraxini 



cent, winged at the top, 1- or 2-eelled, 1- or 2-seeded. Seed with a fleshy 

 or somewhat horny albumen and a cylindrical embryo, radicle superior. 



Lateral leaflets petiolulate ; flowers and fruit in large terminal 



panicles ; samara supported by the persistent calyx . 1. F. ftoribunda. 



Lateral leaflets sessile ; fruit in short lateral racemes ; no trace 



of calyx at the base of samara 2. F. excelsior. 



Lateral leaflets subsessile ; fruit in numerous short lateral 



umbelliform clusters ; samara supported by the persistent 



calyx 3. F. Moorcroftiana. 



1. F. floribunda, Wall. Tab. XXXVII. Eoxb. Fl. Ind., ed. Carey, 

 i. 150 j PI. As. Ear. t. 277. Yern. Banarish, Afg. ; Sum, sumb, sunnu, 

 shun, hum, hamu, Pb. ; Angan, angou, dakkuri, KW.P. ; Kangu, tahasi, 

 Nepal. 



A large tree, with compressed branchlets. Leaflets opposite, 3-4 pair, 

 petiolulate, ovate-oblong, long-acuminate, serrate, serratures often falcate, 

 4-6 in. long, glabrous above, pilose along nerves beneath ; main lateral 

 nerves prominent, 10-15 pair, often branching, joined by prominent 

 reticulate veins. Flowers white, often bisexual, inodorous, on slender 

 pedicels as long as flowers, in large compound terminal panicles, the 

 lower branches in the axils of pinnate or linear floral leaves. Calyx 4- 

 dentate, teeth sometimes short. Petals 4, oblong, narrowed at both ends, 

 2-3 times the length of calyx. Stamens longer than petals. Samara 

 oblanceolate, 1-1 J in. long, acute, narrowed below, seed-part cylindrical 

 or four-sided, supported by the persistent and somewhat enlarged calyx. 

 Style not persistent. 



Afghanistan, wild and cultivated, Kandanar, Beluchistan, trans-Indus terri- 

 tory, on the east flank of the Sulhnan range. Himalaya, not common, occa- 

 sionally planted from the Indus to Sikkim, between 5000-8500 |ft., in Sikkim 

 ascending to 11,000 ft. Found locally in groups in shady parts of mixed forests. 

 Leafless during part of winter. Fl. at various times, usually April- May ; fruit 

 ripens Aug. -Sept. Growth moderate, 8 rings per in., Wall. A tree 30 years 

 old, 40 ft. high, and 4 ft. girth, Stewart. Hardy in England. 



The finest specimens in the N.W. Himalaya are those planted near villages 

 and temples on the Chenab, some of which are exceedingly handsome large 

 trees, 120 ft. high, with a thick-based, erect, tall trunk, attaining a girth of 12, 

 at times 15 ft. Bark cinereous, smooth, but with deep longitudinal cracks and 

 transverse furrows. Wood similar to English ash, tough and hard, valued 

 much for ploughs, jampan-poles, and in Kashmir reckoned the best wood for 

 oars. Coral-shaped galls not uncommon on the branches. 



Closely allied to this species is the Manna Ash of the Mediterranean region, 

 F. Ornus, Linn. Italian : Avomiello {Ornello, Calabria; Frascinu di manna, 

 muddia, middia, Sicily). The difference consists in long linear calyx-lobes, 

 linear petals, many times longer than calyx, the samara not narrowed at the 

 base, and often terminated by the base of the persistent style. The leaflets also 

 are shorter and not long-acuminate, but vary in shape exceedingly, from nar- 

 rowly lanceolate to almost orbicular. This variability has given rise to the 

 erroneous supposition of two species or varieties, F. Ornus and F. rotundifolia. 

 Manna is the sweet concrete juice, which exudes from cuts made in the bark. 

 Small sticks are inserted in the wounds, round which the manna congeals like 

 stalactites, and that which runs down to the roots is gathered on tiles or half-dry 



