OLIVE FAMILY 
Stamens.—Two, anthers large, oblong, dark purple, attached to 
the back of short filaments. 
Pistil.—Ovary superior, two-celled, narrowed 
into a long slender style, deeply divided at the 
apex into two broad, purple stigmas. Ovules two 
in each cell. 
fruit.—Samaras, borne in panicles. Oblong- 
linear, an inch to an inch andahalf long. Body 
surrounded by the wing, which is emarginate at 
apex. Seed solitary by abortion. September, 
October. Cotyledons elliptical. 
The Black Ash is the slenderest of our 
forest trees, often reaching the height of 
seventy feet with a trunk whose diameter 
scarcely exceeds a foot. It is the most 
northern of American ashes flourishing on 
f the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 
AStaminate anda Pis- Its inflorescence is polygamous, that is, 
a eee staminate, pistillate, and perfect flowers may 
nigra ; enlarged. all be found on a single tree, although usual- 
ly the staminate flowers are borne on a sep- 
arate tree. In this species the flower is reduced to its lowest 
terms. Both calyx and corolla are wanting. 
Many flowers consist simply of two stamens 
sitting on the top of the flower stem, others 
are only a pistil. 
The Black Ash may be known among 
other ashes by the fact that its leaflets are 
sessile with the exception of the terminal 
one. Its samaras differ from those of the 
White Ash in that the wing entirely sur- 
rounds the body. The taste of the seed is 
aromatic. 
The wood is remarkable for its toughness 
and elasticity. The Indians especially used 
it in the manufacture of baskets, preferring 
it to every other. The trunk is often disfig- 
ured by knobs which are sometimes taken off and made into 
bowls which when polished show very odd undulations of 
Samaras of Filack Ash, 
Fraxinus nigra. 
220 
