TREES WITH HIGHLY-DEVELOPED FLOWERS 309 



feet, and the trunk extends almost to the top of the oval 

 pyramidal, but loose, crown. The bark (Fig. 196) has the 

 form of a meshwork of oval longitudinal fissures. Shoots 

 often spring from dormant buds on the trunk. The branches 

 arise in crossed pairs and are greenish-grey to olive-green. 



Fig. 204. Common Ash. 1, winter twig; 2, leafy shoot; 3, 

 flowering shoot ; 4, male flower ; 5, hermaphrodite flower ; 6, 

 young fruiting branch ; 7, floral diagram of hermaphrodite flower ; 

 db, dormant buds ; l.s, leaf-scar ; sc, scale-scar. 



They remain smooth for a long time ; then become finely 

 fissured and have a few scattered, longitudinal lenticels. 

 The twigs (Fig. 204, 1) are thick, smooth, often upturned 

 at the ends, and sometimes form false whorls. Dwarf 

 shoots are common and very knotted. The terminal buds, 



