Prairie Ash 



799 



4. VELVETY ASH Fraxinus velutina Torrey 



This tree is recorded from western Texas to Arizona, southeastern CaUfomia, 

 and northern Mexico, preferring canons. 



The bark is reddish green and rough. The young twigs are round and either 

 velvety or smooth, the older ones gray and smooth. 

 The leaves are also velvety or at least somewhat hairy 

 on the lower surface, with 3 to 9 lanceolate to ovate, 

 or elliptic leaflets, which are blunt or sharp-pointed, 

 often toothed, leathery in texture and yellowish green, 

 2.5 to 8 cm. long, rather strongly netted- veined, the 

 lateral ones sessile or nearly so on the leaf-axis. The 

 staminate and pistillate flowers are borne on different 

 trees, the clusters appearing at the leaf scars of the 

 preceding year. The calyx of the pistillate flowers is 

 larger than that of the staminate, and its 4 lobes are 

 slightly toothed. The samara is spatulate to linear- 

 spatulate, 2.5 to 3.5 cm. long, the blunt or slightly 

 notched wing as long as the terete seed-bearing part 

 or longer, and decurrent upon it only for about one 

 fourth its length. 



Dr. Torrey changed the specific name of this tree 

 subsequently to Fraxinus pistacicejolia, because he thought velutina uncharacteris- 

 tic; the species has long been confounded 

 with Toumey's ash. 



5. PRAIRIE ASH 

 Fraxinus campestris Britton, new species 



This tree, which ranges from Montana 

 to Manitoba, Wyoming and Kansas, pre- 

 ferably inhabiting valleys, has been confused 

 with the eastern Red ash {Fraxinus penn- 

 sylvanica Marshall), from which it differs in 

 its shorter-stalked or sessile lateral leaflets 

 which are relatively broader, and in its 

 shorter fruit. 



Its bark is thick, brown and rough. 

 The young twigs are round and either 

 smooth or velvety. The leaves have 7 leaf- 

 lets for the most part, which are ovate to 



Fig. 725. Velvety Ash. 



Fig. 726. Prairie Ash. 



ovate-lanceolate, usually long-pointed and toothed and more or less hairy beneath, 

 rarely smooth on both surfaces. The flowers are dioecious, with a small 4-toothed 



