1274 



FRASERA 



FRAXINUS 



Large stout glabrous herbs, all N. American, and all but 

 1 far- western with a single st. from thick bitter mostly 

 biennial roots, opposite or whorled lys., and cymose 

 panicled clusters of dull white, yellowish or bluish fls. 

 which are commonly dark-spotted; calyx deeply 4- 

 parted; corolla wheel-shaped, 4-parted, persistent, the 

 lobes glandular within; stamens 4, the filaments often 

 united at the base; ovary 1 -celled, the stigma entire or 

 2-lobed. Species 8, mostly in woods or dry soils. 

 Three of the species have been offered in the trade, but 

 are probably very little planted. F. carolinensis, Walt., 

 of the eastern states and Ont., is a biennial or short- 

 lived perennial, 3-4 ft. tall, with lance-oblong or 

 spatulate veiny Ivs. mostly in 4's, and greenish yellow 

 purple-dotted fls. 



A. Lvs. in whorls of 4~6, not white-margined. 

 speciosa, Douglas. Stout, 2-5 ft., very leafy, the Ivs. 

 ovate to oblong: fls. greenish white or barely tinged 

 bluish, dark-dotted; 2 glands on each corolla - lobe. 

 Wyo., S. and W. 



1574. Fraxinus Bungeana. ( X K) 



AA. Lvs. in 2's or 3's, white-margined. 



Parryi, Torr. Height 2-3 ft.: Ivs. opposite or in 3's: 

 fls. whitish, dark-dotted; 1 notched gland on each 

 corolla-lobe. Ariz., S. Calif. 



Cusickii, Gray. Slender, height 3-8 in. : Ivs. opposite: 

 fls. bluish; 1 gland reaching from near the base to near 

 the middle of each corolla-lobe. Ore. L > jj. g.-j- 



FRAXINfeLLA: Dictamnus. 



FRAXINUS (ancient Latin name). Oleacese. ASH. 

 Interesting trees grown chiefly for their handsome 

 pinnate leaves and some species also for the conspicu- 

 ous panicles of white flowers. 



Deciduous: Ivs. opposite, odd -pinnate, without 

 stipules: fls. in panicles, dioecious or polygamous, with 

 or without calyx or with calyx and a 2-6-parted corolla 

 with generally linear segms.'; stamens generally 2; ovary 

 2-celled: fr. a 1 -seeded, winged samara. About 50 

 species in the temperate regions of the northern hemi- 

 sphere south to Cuba; 16 of them occur in the U. S. 



The ashes are ornamental trees, most of them hardy, 

 with rather large leaves and small flowers in panicles, 

 either appearing before the leaves and greenish, or in 

 the subgenus Ornus after or with leaves and whitish in 

 showy panicles: the winged fruit is insignificant. They 

 are valuable as street and park trees, and grow mostly 

 into tall, pyramidal or broad-headed trees, with rather 



light green foliage, which turns yellow or dark purple 

 in fall or remains green, as in F. excelsior and F. Ornus. 

 The ash is seldom severely injured, though a number of 

 insects and fungi prey on the leaves and wood, of which 

 two borers, and a fungus attacking the leaves are per- 

 haps the most obnoxious. Most of the species are hardy 

 North except those from the southern states, southern 

 Europe and Himalayas; of the subgenus Ornus, F. 

 Bungeana and F. longicuspis seem to be the hardiest. 

 The ashes are important forest trees, and the straight- 

 grained and tough wood is much used for handles of 

 tools, in the manufacture of carriages and wagons, for 

 the interior finish of houses, and for furniture, for 

 baskets and also for fuel. From F. Ornus manna is 

 obtained as an exudation of the trunk, and some 

 Chinese species, especially F. chinensis and F. Mariesii, 

 yield the Chinese white wax. 



The ashes grow in almost any moderately moist soil, 

 F. nigra being somewhat more moisture-loving, while 

 F. oxycarpa, F. Ornus, F. syriaca and F. cuspidata grow 

 well even in drier situations. They are usually 

 readily transplanted and grow rapidly when young. 

 Propagation is by seeds gathered in fall and sown 

 immediately, or stratified and sown in spring, covered 

 with about 1 inch of good soil; sometimes they 

 remain dormant until the second year. The varieties 

 and rarer kinds are budded in late summer or grafted 

 in spring on the seedlings of any of the common species. 



INDEX. 



A. F Is. in terminal panicles on leafy shoots, perfect or 

 polygamous, with or after the Ivs. (Ornus.) 



B. Corolla present, divided nearly to the base; stamens 

 with long filaments. 



c. Petioles not conspicuously enlarged at the base. 



D. Lowest pair of Ifts. not much smaller than the others. 



E. Lfts. stalked. 



1. Ornus, Linn. (Ornus europasa, Pers. F. flori- 

 bunda, Hort., not Wall.). Small tree, becoming 25 ft.: 

 winter-buds gray or brownish tomentulose: Ifts. gen- 

 erally 7, stalked, oblong-ovate or ovate, irregularly 

 serrate, rufously pubescent on the midrib beneath, 

 2-3 K in. long: fls. whitish, fragrant, in dense, terminal 

 panicles 3-5 in. long: fr. erect, narrow-oblong, truncate 

 or emarginate at the apex, about 1 in. long. May, June. 

 S. Eu., W. Asia. Gn. 22, p. 117; 34, p. 78; 48, p. 286; 

 31, pp. 354, 355. F.E.22:61. G. 18:541. G.M. 54:860. 

 H.W. 3:60, p. 120. Var. juglandifdlia, Tenore (var. 

 latifolia, Dipp. F. rotundifolia, Hort.). Lfts. ovate or 

 broadly ovate-oblong. Var. rotundifdlia, Tenore (F. 

 rotundifolia, Lam.). Low tree: Ifts. roundish-elliptic 

 to roundish-obovate. Var. angustifdlia, Tenore (F. 

 Theophrdstii, Hort., partly). Lfts. lanceolate. 



