Trees of New York State 329 



OLEACEAE 



Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh. [Fraxinus pubcscens Lam.] 



Red Ash 



Habit — • A small or medimn-sized tree generally 30-60 feet in height with a 

 trunk diameter of 6-18 inches, under favorable conditions occasionally 

 70 feet in height and 3-4 feet in diameter. Bole similar to that of White 

 Ash but more slender and sometimes buttressed at the base. Crown com- 

 pact, irregular, consisting of numerous, upright branches. 



Leaves — Opposite, odd-pinnately compound, 7-12 inches long, borne on stout, 

 pubescent petioles, consisting of 7-9 stalked leaflets arranged, except for 

 the terminal, in pairs along the pubescent raehis. Leaflets oblong- 

 lanceolate to ovate, 3-5 inches long, attenuate at the apex, unequally 

 cuneate at the base, obscurely serrate, at maturity thin, light yellow- 

 green and glabrous above, pale silky-pubescent below. 



Flowers — Appearing in May before or with the leaves, dioecious, the stami- 

 nate in dense, purplish red clusters, the pistillate in open, greenish red 

 panicles. Calyx cup-shaped, minute, obscurely toothed in the staminate 

 flower, urceolate, more prominently lobed and closely appressed to the 

 ovary in the pistillate flower. Corolla lacking. Stamens 2, with linear- 

 oblong, apiculate anthers and short filaments. Pistil consisting of an 

 ovate ovary prolonged above into an elongated style bifurcated at the 

 apex into green stigmatic lobes. 



Fruit — An oblong-spatulate or spatulate, light brown samara, 1-2 inches 

 long, consisting of a slender, basal, terete, many-rayed body prolonged 

 above into a thin, decurrent wing with rounded or acute apex. Wing as 

 long or longer than the body. Samaras borne in open, pubescent panicles 

 which persist into the winter. 



Winter characters — Twigs opposite, rather slender, flattened at the nodes, 

 ashy-gray or pale reddish brown, generally densely velvety-pubescent and 

 marked with conspicuous semi-circular leaf-scars. Terminal bud ovate, 

 acute, rusty-brown and tomentose, smaller than that of White Ash. 

 Lateral buds smaller, with rounded bud-scales. Visible scales 2 pairs. 

 Mature bark thin, grayish brown, similar to that of White Ash but more 

 shallowly furrowed. 



Habitat — Swampy situations along sluggish rivers and lakes, often on lands 

 inundated for a portion of each year, occasionally at higher elevations 

 along stream courses. 



Range — New Brunswick westward through southern Ontario to Minnesota, 

 southward into the Gulf States. Zones A, B, and C. 



Uses — Wood hard, heavy, medium strong, brash, light brown with thick, 

 paler sapwood. Inferior to that of White Ash but used for the same 

 purpose and often confounded with it in the trade. Occasionally planted 

 for ornament but not superior to White Ash except on moist sites. 



