OLEACEAE 



Bed Ash 



Fraxinus Pennsylvania, Marsh. [Fraxinus pubescens, Lam.] 



HABIT. A medium-sized tree 30-50 feet high, with a trunk 

 diameter of 1-2 feet; stout, upright brandies and slender branch- 

 lets form a compact, broad, irregular crown. 



LEAVES. Opposite, pinnately compound, 10-12 inches long. 

 Leaflets 7-9, 3-5 inches long, 1-1^/2 inches broad; short-stalked; 

 oblong-lanceolate to ov.ate; slightly serrate or entire; thin and 

 firm; glabrous, yellow-green above, pale and silky-downy be- 

 neath. Petioles stout, pubescent. 



FLOWERS. May, with the leaves; dioecious; borne .in 

 compact, downy panicles on shoots of the previous season ; calyx 

 cup-shaped, 4-toothed; corolla o; stamens 2, rarely 3; ovary 2- 

 celled. 



FRUIT. Early .autumn, persistent on the branches through- 

 out the winter; samaras 1-2 inches long, in open, paniculate clus- 

 ters. 



WINTER-BUDS. Small, rounded; bud-scales rounded on 

 the back, 3 pairs, rusty brown, tomentose. 



'BARK. Twigs pale pubescent at first, lasting 2-3 years or 

 often disappearing during the first summer, finally ashy gray or 

 brownish and often covered with a glaucous bloom; brown or 

 dark gray on the trunk, with many longitudinal, shallow furrows ; 

 somewhat 'scaly. 



WOOD. Heavy, hard, strong, brittle, coarse-grained, light 

 brown, with thick, yellow-streaked sapwood. 



DISTRIBUTION. Not a common tree. .Most frequent in 

 the southern half of the Lower Peninsula, but has been reported 

 further north, i. e., Drummond's Island and Keweenaw County, 

 Upper Peninsula. 



HABITAT. Prefers wet or moist, rich loam; river-banks; 

 swampy lowlands. 



NOTES. A rapid grower in youth. Fairly immune from 

 insect and fungous diseases. 



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