(144) 



a height of 90 feet and a trunk diameter of 20 inches, but 

 most of the trees in the Hudson Valley are smaller than 

 this. The thin, scaly bark is gray in color, and slightly 

 fissured. The compound leaves are from 10 to 16 inches 

 long and are composed of from 7 to 1 1 leaflets. The latter 

 are practically without stalks and this characteristic is pecu- 

 liar to this ash, all the other Hudson Valley ashes having 

 stalked leaflets. The flowers are borne in many-flowered 

 clusters. The individual flowers are without petals or cover- 

 ing of any kind. The fruits are clustered and each one is 

 surrounded by a wing, the upper end of which is notched. 



The wood of the black ash is very durable underground 

 and it is much used for fence posts. It is also used in basket- 

 making, interior finishing and cabinet-work. 



Red Ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica 



This common and widely dispersed tree grows from Ver- 

 mont to Florida and westward, and is plentiful throughout 

 the Hudson Valley. Its average height is from 50 to 60 feet, 

 and it not infrequently attains a trunk diameter of 5 feet. 

 The bark is thick and furrowed, and usually brownish in 

 color. 



In the red ash there are 5, 7, or 9 thin, finely toothed 

 leaflets that compose the compound leaf. They are in pairs, 

 with a terminal one, and each leaflet is distinctly stalked, 

 green on both sides, and from \y 2 to iy 2 inches long. In 

 this ash the fertile and sterile flowers are borne on different 

 trees. In both the sterile and fertile there are no petals and 

 the flowers are greenish in color. From the fertile flowers 

 subsequently develop the fruits which are winged; the wing is 

 broader above the middle than below it and slightly notched 

 at its tip. It may be from 1 to 2 inches long. 



The wood of the red ash is much used in carpentry and 

 wagon building, and the tree is desirable for street planting 

 as it grows rapidly. (Plate 150.) 



Darlington's Ash {Fraxinus Darlingtonii) , a tree related 

 to the red ash, is known to grow wild from Massachusetts to 



