Chapter XXXVI. 



From Ash trees to Verbenas* 



The twenty-ninth order includes four families, none of which 

 is native to Minnesota. Here are grouped the persimmon trees 

 of the south, the benzoin gum trees, the gutta-perchas and the 

 butter seeds, and the ebony tree, the hard black wood of which 

 is capable of taking a high polish and is much prized. 



The thirtieth order includes the ashes, the gentians, the dog- 

 banes and the milkweeds, all represented in the Minnesota flora. 

 There are also two other families without Minnesota represent- 

 atives, in one of which is classified the strychnine plant. 



The ash family, besides the common ash trees, comprises 

 also the lilac bushes, the olive trees and the jasmines. Lilac 

 bushes, with their handsome panicles of fragrant tubular flowers, 

 are well known as dooryard shrubs throughout the state. They 

 are not, however, natives of North America. 



Of ashes there are five species in Minnesota, namely, the 

 white, the red, the green, the blue and the black. Ash trees, 

 botanically considered, are noteworthy as being the highest 

 type of trees native to the state. In all of them the leaves are 

 compound, consisting of several leaflets arranged pinnately 

 upon a common axis. The fruit in all the varieties has a strong 

 terminal wing, by means of which it is distributed in air cur- 

 rents. The different kinds of ashes may be known by the 

 foliage, the character of the wing on the fruit, and the appear- 

 ance of the young twigs. 



White ashes. The white ash is a tree, reaching under fa- 

 vorable conditions a height of 120 feet, but not growing so 

 strongly in Minnesota. The bark is dark brown and the wood 

 is heavy, firm and tough, universally employed in the manu- 

 facture of tool handles and agricultural machinery. The leaves 

 are composed usually of seven leaflets, somewhat broadly willow- 



