362 TREES OF MINNESOTA. 
Fraxinus nigra. (/ sambucifolia.) Black Ash. Swamp 
Ash. Hoop Ash. 
Flowers dioecious or polygamous without calyx. Leaflets 
seven to eleven, oblong-lanceolate, taper-pointed; the lateral 
sessile. It naturally inhabits cold, wet swamps, and the low 
banks of streams and lakes. Generally a small, slender tree. 
The bruised foliage exhales the odor of Elder. 
Distribution —Cold swamps and low banks of streams from 
Newfoundland to Manitoba and south to Virginia and Arkansas. 
In Minnesota frequent throughout the state. 
Propagation.—As described under genus, except that seeds of 
this are different from those of other native species in not grow- 
ing the first season after planting, but must be kept stratified 
for one year. 
Properties of wood.—The Black Ash is heavy, rather soft, not 
strong, tough, coarse grained, durable in contact with the soil 
and easily separated into thin layers. It is dark brown, with 
thin light brown or often nearly white sapwood. The specific 
gravity is 0.6318; weight of a cubic foot 39.37 pounds. 
Uses.—The Black Ash is of very little value for planting, 
but might sometimes be used to advantage in wet lands. It is 
a slow grower and short lived in our prairie soils. It is used 
extensively in the manufacture of furniture, for interior finish- 
ing, barrel, tub and pail hoops, baskets and chair seats. For 
this latter purpose the wood is split in as many layers as there 
are annual rings, which may be done very readily. There are 
peculiar excrescences popularly known as knots or “burls” that 
form on the Black Ash, and sometimes these grow as large as 
a bushel basket or larger. They are a sort of dwarfed branches. 
It has been found that when these ‘“burls” are properly sawed 
they show a pretty curly grain, and make very desirable veneer- 
ing for furniture and for interior finishing, and they are sought 
after for this purpose. However, in this section the “burls” 
seldom if ever grow to sufficient size to become of commercial 
importance, 
