The Ashes and the Fringe Tree 



(the tupelos, for instance,) that grow in land subject to inun- 

 dation. 



The ^Vater, or Swamp Ash (F. Caroliniana, Mill.) grows 

 to 40 feet high in swampy lands skirting the coast from Virginia 

 to middle Florida, and west to the Sabine River in Texas. It 

 follows the deep river swamps of the Mississippi north to Arkansas. 

 it is as well that the white wood of this tree has less value than 

 that of the other ashes, for it grows in inaccessible places. The 

 leaves are small, and the little seeds have exceptionally broad 

 wings. 



Some Little Ashes 



There are species of ash of small size and limited area that 

 may be named in passing, but which do not rank among the 

 important species. Fraxinus anomala, in the corner where Colo- 

 rado, Nevada and Utah meet, is interesting because its leaf is 

 reduced to one leaflet, rarely two or three. The winged seed 

 declares it an ash. Fraxinus Greggii, a little ash on the rocky 

 bluffs of western Texas, has its leaves and fruits reduced to 

 miniature size, and exhibits peculiarly webbed or winged petioles. 



The Biltmore Ash {Fraxinus Bilimoreana, Beadl.) is a 

 small tree quite common about Biltmore, North Carolina. It is 

 closely allied to the white ash, but its leaves and young twigs 

 are densely coated with fine hairs. Very strangely the seedling 

 trees are smooth until four or five years old, after which the young 

 growth is pubescent. 



Another little ash {Fraxinus velutina, Torr.) grows in the 

 Southwest, extending from Texas to California, climbing to the 

 tops of dry mesas and the walls of caiions, or lending itself to 

 "husbandry by shading irrigation ditches and village streets. Its 

 leaflets are narrow and tapering, becoming thick and leathery 

 and occasionally velvety in the hottest, dryest regions. It is 

 distinctly the friend of man in a region where trees are most 

 appreciated. Its wood is good for axe-handles and wagons. 



The Mountain Ash {F. Texensis, Sarg.) grows on the lime- 

 stone hills and gravelly ridges of western Texas, a small or medium- 

 sized tree with broadly oval leaflets, and small broad-winged 

 seeds. Its wood makes excellent flooring, but is chiefly used as 

 fuel, as it rarely attains sufficient size for lumber. 



The Flowering Ash {F. Ornus) of southern Europe and 

 440 



