| White Ash | ||||||||||||||
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| Fraxinus americana L. | ||||||||||||||
The White Ash or Cane Ash (Fraxinus americana) is one of the largest of the ash genus Fraxinus, growing to 35 m (115 ft) 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 (2-5 in) 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 born 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.
White ash trees have an average natural lifespan of 100 years.
It is the timber of choice for production of baseball bats and tool handles. The wood is also favorable for furniture and flooring.
The White Ash is similar in appearance to the Green Ash, making identification difficult. The lower sides of the leaves of White Ash are lighter-colored than their upper sides, and the outer surface of the twigs of White Ash may be flaky or peeling. Green Ash leaves are similar in color on upper and lower sides, and twigs are smoother. Also, these species tend to occupy different habitat niches, with White Ash found in moist upland sites and Green Ash in wet forests of floodplains or swamps, although there is some overlap in habitat distribution.