OLEACEAE 

 Rod Ash 



Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh. [Fra.rinus pubescens Lam.} 



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

 diameter of 1-2 feet; stout, upright branches 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 ovate; 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 

 clusters. 



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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