The White Ash —Fraxmus Ajnencana 
r?EW trees have a more characteristic 
^ appearance at any season of the 
year than do our various species of the 
Ash tree family. The bark of the trunk 
is of a grayish color and is so vertically 
furrowed in a more or less zigzag fashion 
as to be easily recognized. The manner 
of growth of the branches and twigs is 
also characteristic, as are the large com¬ 
pound leaves and the very distinctive pad- 
dle-like key-fruits. 
The European Ash has been the subject 
of many traditions and superstitions, which 
to a certain extent have been applied to the 
American species. One of the most curi¬ 
ous of these is the one relating to the antip¬ 
athy of snakes for the branches of the 
trees. So long ago as Pliny wrote the 
superstition apparently was in existence, 
for that author states that the serpent will 
go through fire rather than through the 
branches of the Ash tree. 
The White Ash is distinguished in sum¬ 
mer from the other species native to Amer¬ 
ica by having stalked leaflets on glabrous 
petioles, the leaflets being distinctly whiter 
on the under than on the upper surface. 
The margins of the leaflets are serrate and 
the tips are commonly acuminate. They 
turn yellow in autumn. In winter the 
White Ash is distinguished by having smooth 
glabrous twigs and slender key-fruits on 
which the wing is terminal. 
The curious blossoms of this tree are 
sent out in spring in advance of the leaves. 
The pollen-bearing and the seed-bearing 
flowers are generally on diE'erent trees 
and the pollen is evidently carried by the 
wind. The seed-bearing flowers are in long 
panicles that become still larger as the 
fruit matures. 
The White Ash grows commonly through¬ 
out a vast region bounded by Nova Scotia 
and Minnesota on the north and Elorida 
and Texas on the south. It is greatly 
prized as a timber tree, the wood being 
used for many purposes, and it also has 
decided advantages as a shade and orna¬ 
mental tree. It is often called the Amer¬ 
ican Ash. It is easily grown from seed. 
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