XLViii. olea'ce^: i^RA'xiNUS. 



6S9 



Sk mit t I F. ^hillyreoi'des Labill. The Phillyrea- 

 like Fontanesia. 



Identification. Labill. Syr., dec. 1. p. 9. t. 1. ; Don's Mill., 4. p. -51. 

 Ennravings. Bot. Cab., t. 1308. ; and onr Jig. 1245. 



i Spec. Char., ^c. See Gen. Char. A sub-evergreen shrub 

 or low tree. Syria between Laodicea and Mount Cas- 



\ suis, and Sicily. Height 10 ft. to 14 ft. Introduced 

 in 1787. Flowers greenish white, turning to brownish 

 yellow ; June, and remaining on the tree two or 



[ three months. 



' Readily propagated by layers, by cuttings, or by 



j grafting on the common privet. Grafted standard 



I high on the ash, it would form a very handsome 



I (Irooping-branched tree. 



Sect. III. i^RAXINIE^.(E. 



1245. F. j.hilljrcoWes. 



Genus VI. 



m 



FRA'XINUS Tourn. The Ash. Lin. Syst. Polygamia DioeVia. 



Identification. Tourn. Inst., 343. ; Lin. Gen., No. IIGO. ; Don's Mill., 4. p. 53. 

 \ Synomjmes. Frdne, Fr. ; Esche, Ger. ; Frassino, Ital. 



; Derivation. Tiie derivation of Fraxinus given in Don's Miller is, from phrasso, to enclose ; the ash 

 i having been formerly used for malcing hedges. Linnaeus derives it from phraxis, a separation, 

 1 because the wood splits easily. Others derive it from frangilur, because the young branches are 

 i easily broken ; or which may have been applied ironically, in allusion to the extreme toughness of 

 ; the old wood. None of these derivations, however, appears very satisfactory. The English name 

 j of Ash may be derived either from the Saxon word ccse, a pike ; or from the colour of the bark of 

 I the trunk and branches, which resembles that of wood ashes. 



,Gen. Char., S^c. Flowers polygamous. Calyx none, or 4-parted, or 4-toothed. 

 I Corolla none. Stamens 2, in the male flowers. Anthers sessile, or on short 



filaments, dehiscing outwardly. Female fiowen's the same, except that they 

 1 have no stamens, but have each a pistil that has a bifid stigma. Fruit, 

 \ or samara, 2-celled, compressed, winged at top. Cf//s 1-seeded. \Dov!s Mill.) 

 I Leaves compound, opposite, exstipulate, deciduous; unequally pinnate. 

 ' Flowers in lateral racemes, greenish yellow. Fruit, or samara, 2-ceIled, 



compressed, winged at top. Trees ; natives of Europe, part of Asia, and 

 , North America. 



' The species are raised from seeds ; and the varieties chiefly by grafting on 

 ''raxinus excelsior, but partly also from seeds. There is a great tendency in 

 11 the species to sport into varieties ; and many of what are by botanists 

 escribed as species are, in our opinion, not entitled to that distinction. 

 W the ashes are of easy culture in good soil, and in a sheltered situation. 

 he European ash is one of our most valuable timber trees, as is the Ame- 

 can ash in North America. 



\-. Leaflets broad, smooth or shining on the upper surface. Natives of Europe. 



"i \. F. exce'lsior X.. The taller, or co??wiOK, Ash. 



ntificatton. Lin. Sp., p. 1.500. ; Don's Mill., 4. p. 53. 



Mnyims. F. apetala I.am. III. t. 858. f. 1. ; F. rostrata Guss. Fl. Rar. p. 374. ; F. O'rnus Scop. 

 "arn. No. 1249.; F. erbsa Pers. ; F. crispa Bosc ; le Frene, Fr.; Acsche or Esche, Ger. and 

 i)utch ; Ask, Ban. and Swed. ; Frassino, Ital. ; Fresno, Span. ; Freixo, Port. ; Jas, Jasen, or 

 ^ssen, Rxiss. ; .ffise, Sax. 

 1 -feratiingi. Eng. Bot., t. 1692. ; the plates in Arb. Brit., 1st. edit., vol. vi. ; and omfig. 1246. 



t'pc. Char., S^c. Leaflets almost sessile, lanceolate-oblong, acuminate, ser- 

 rated, cuneated at the base. Flowers naked. Samara obliquely emarginate 

 p the apex. The leaves have generally 5 pairs of leaflets, but sometimes 6. 



