Green Ash

Plant Characteristics

Habit		tree
Height:	⇕	70 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 70.
Width:	⇔	70 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 70.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun
USDA Zones:		4 to 10

Scientific Names

Oleaceae >

Fraxinus >

pennsylvanica >

Marshall >

Fraxinus pennsylvanica (Green Ash or Red Ash) is a species of ash native to eastern and central North America, from Nova Scotia west to southeastern Alberta and eastern Colorado, south to northern Florida, and southwest to eastern Texas.

It is a medium-sized deciduous tree reaching 12-25 m (rarely to 45 m) tall with a trunk up to 60 cm in diameter. The bark is smooth and gray on young trees, becoming thick and fissured with age. The winter buds are reddish-brown, with a velvety texture. The leaves are 15-30 cm long, pinnately compound with seven to nine (occasionally five or eleven) leaflets, these 5–15 cm (rarely 18 cm) long and 1.2–9 cm broad, with serrated margins and short but distinct, downy petiolules a few millimeters long. They are green both above and below. The autumn color is golden-yellow, and the tree is usually the earliest to change color, sometimes being in autumn color as early as Labor Day. The flowers are produced in spring at the same time as the new leaves, in compact panicles; they are inconspicuous with no petals, and are wind-pollinated. The fruit is a samara 2.5-7.5 cm long comprising a single seed 1.5-3 cm long with an elongated apical wing 2-4 cm long and 3-7 mm broad.

It is sometimes divided into two varieties, Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. pennsylvanica (Red Ash) and Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. lanceolata (Borkh.) Sarg. (syn. var. subintegerrima (Vahl) Fern.; Green Ash) on the basis of the hairless leaves with narrower leaflets of the latter, but the two intergrade completely, and the distinction is no longer upheld by most botanists.

Green Ash is one of the most widely planted ornamental trees throughout the United States and much of Canada, including in western areas where it is not native. Is also widely planted in Argentina. It is very popular due to its good form and resistance to disease. It has several drawbacks as an urban tree, notably a relatively short lifespan compared to many trees (rarely over 100 years, often only 30-50 years), and more recently, the threat from the emerald ash borer. Advantages include its tolerance of urban conditions, ease of propagation, and (in eastern North America) its value for wildlife as a native species.

Read about Green Ash in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Marsh. (F. pubescens, Lam.). Red Ash. Tree, to 60 ft.: brancnlets and petioles pubescent: lfts. 5-9, stalked, ovate to oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, crenately serrate or entire, pubescent beneath, 3-6 in. long: fr. linear-spatulate, about 2 in. long, with somewhat decurrent wing. Canada to Fla., west to Dakota and Mo. 8.8.6:271.—This species varies considerably in the amount of pubescence and the shape of the lfts., and many forms under different names are grown in European nurseries and gardens. Var. aucubaefolia, Hort., is a form with less pubescent lvs., blotched yellow. There are also variegated forms with the lvs. blotched white or edged white. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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Gallery

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  Bark

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  Bark and leaf

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  photo 3

References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Green Ash. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Green Ash QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)