560 NEW ENGLAKD TREES IN" WINTER. 



BLACK ASH 

 Hoop, Swamp, Basket or Brown Ash. 



Fraxinus nigra Marsh. 

 F. sainbucifolia Lam. 



H.\BIT — A tall tree 60-SO ft. in height with trunk diameter of 1-2 ft., 

 larger further south; in swamps in company with other trees with tall 

 slender trunk of nearly uniform diameter to point of brandling sup- 

 l>'-'rting a narrow liead; in tlie open, "where it is seldom found, said to 

 ha\-e a habit similar to that of the White Ash. 



BARK — Ash-gray, slightly tinged "with buff, ■u^ithout deep ridges, 

 forming thin scales smoothish on the outside and edges, easily rubbed 

 off and exposing a surface rather soft to the touch suggesting some- 

 \A-!iat the feel of asbestos or talcum po"wder; trunk frequently with 

 knobby excrescences. 



TAVIGS — Very stout, similar to those of White Ash but lighter gray 

 and not shiny. 



LEAF-SC.4RS — Opposite, large, conspicuous, circular to semi-circular; 

 the upper margin not concave, often extending upward as a thin flap 

 partially hiding the bud; otherwise resembling the White Ash. 



FRL'IT — With broad wing, distinctly notched at apex, surrounding 

 the flattened seed-bearing portion. 



COJIPARISONS — The Black Ash Is easily distinguished from the 

 White by its soft, scaly bark, the even or raised upper margin of its 

 leaf-scars, its narrower and generally black buds, and the stalked ap- 

 pearance of its terminal bud. When grooving in the swamps beside the 

 White Ash its twigs can be seen to be much stouter and fewer than 

 those of the latter species. 



DISTRIBUTION — Wet woods, river bottoms, and swamps. Anticostl 

 through Ontario; south to Delaware and Virginia; west to Arkansas and 

 Missouri. 



IN NEW ENGLAND — Maine — common; New Hampshire — south of the 

 White Mountains; Vermont — common; Massachusetts — more common in 

 central and western sections; Rhode Island — infrequent. 



IN CONNECTICUT— Occasional. 



AVOOD — Heavy, rather soft, not strong, tough, coarse-grained, durable, 

 easily separable into thin layers, dark brown with thin light brown 

 often nearly white sapwood; largely used for the interior finish of 

 houses and cabinet-making, and for fences, barrel hoops and in the 

 manufacture of baskets. 



