Transcript White Ash - Community informatics

White Ash
“Autumn
Purple”
(Fraxinus Americana)
Scientific Classification
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Kingdom:
Division:
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Genus:
Species:
Plantae
Magnoliophyta
Magnoliopsida
Scrophulariales*
Oleaceae
Fraxinus
Americana
Tree Description
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Height 60-80 ft
Extreme 90 ft
Trunk 2-4 fta
Hardwood Tree
Wood is hard, strong and
elastic
• The bark is rough dark gray,
deep diamond shaped furrows
and forking ridges.
Leaf Description
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Deciduous
Opposite
Compound
Pinnately compound
Margins toothed
Leaflets similar in size and
shape
Leaflets with short stems
Leaflets irregularly toothed,
or only near tip
Twigs and leaf stalks smooth
Root System
• White ash generally forms a taproot that
in turn branches into a few large roots
• vertical roots, single lateral branches
develop at intervals
Reproduction
• flowers appear with or just before the leaves in April and May
• Pollen shedding from an individual tree usually takes 3 or 4
days
• The pollen is carried by wind as far as 328 ft from the point of
dispersion
• Female buds are completely open a few days after they begin
to swell
• Almost 99 percent of the fruits (samaras) contain one seed,
about 1 percent contain two
Fruit
• Single winged
• Elongate
• Seed cavity round or
flattened
• Fruit straight to 3 inches
• Tan
• Attracts birds; fruit, twigs,
or foliage cause
significant litter; showy
Female Flower (Right)
Male Flower (Left)
World distribution
•White ash grows most commonly on fertile soils with a
high nitrogen content
•Soil moisture is an important factor affecting local
distribution
•White ash is found in various topographic situations
•In the Central States it is most common on slopes along
major streams
Habitat/growth environment
• Deep, moist, well
drained soil, pH
adaptable, full sun
Economic importance
• juice from the white ash leaves can be topically
applied to a mosquito bite to relieve swelling and
itching
• best known as the wood most often used
• baseball bats hockey sticks, billiard cues, skis and
oars, and as tool handles because of its strength,
light weight, and shock absorbency
• also used for chairs and other furniture pieces
because it is one of the best woods for steam
bending due to its flexibility
References
• http://www.lsadecatur.net/tree%20pages/white_as
h.htm
• http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_ash
• http://www.oplin.lib.oh.us/products/tree/fact%20p
ages/ash_white/ash_white.html
• www.enature.com
• http://www.ohiodnr.com/forestry/Education/ohiotr
ees/ashwhite.htm
• http://adm.hfcc.net/~lbrandt/Nature%20Tour/Web
%20Pages/whiteash/white_ash.htm
• http://wildwnc.org/trees/Fraxinus_americana.html
References
• http://www.mrgrow.com/plant/plant397.htm