White Ash
From Free net encyclopedia
{{Taxobox | color = lightgreen | name = White Ash | regnum = Plantae | divisio = Magnoliophyta | classis = Magnoliopsida | ordo = Lamiales | familia = Oleaceae | genus = Fraxinus | species = F. americana | binomial = Fraxinus americana | binomial_authority = L. }}
The White Ash (Fraxinus americana) is one of the largest of the ash genus Fraxinus, growing to 35 m tall. It is native to eastern North American hardwood forests, found in mesophytic forests from Quebec to northern Florida. The wood is white, strong, and straight-grained. The name White Ash apparently derives from the glaucous undersides of the leaves. The leaves are 20-30 cm long, pinnately compound with 7 (occasionally 5 or 9) leaflets, 6-13 cm long. They turn yellow, red or purple in the fall. Cultivars which have superior fall color include 'Autumn Applause' and 'Autumn Purple'.
This tree, like all ashes, is dioecious, with male and female flowers being borne on separate trees. Flowering occurs in early spring after 30-55 growing degree days. The fruit when fully formed is a samara 3-5 cm long, the seed 1.5-2 cm long with a pale brown wing 1.5-3 cm long, and can be blown a good distance from the parent tree.
It is the timber of choice for production of baseball bats and tool handles.
The White Ash is similar to the Green Ash.