A selection from an unpublished manuscript, Ancient Garden Plants and Modern Garden Plants
by James K. Sayre
Copyright, 2003. All Rights Reserved.
Green Ash - Fraxinus pennsylvanica - family: Oleaceae (Olive Family).
[Etymology: green Middle English grene, Old English grene, compare: Old Frisian grene, German grün, Dutch groen, + ash Middle English asshe, compare: Old High German ask, ash, so named for the color of its young twigs].
This is a deciduous tree that may grow to about seventy feet high. The diameter of its trunk may reach two feet. It has grayish-brown furrowed bark. Typically found growing in wet areas, such as in swamps or near rivers. It has compound leaves with several pointed oval-to-oblong-shaped lightly-toothed olive-green leaflets. Its flowers appear in the spring about when the leaves begin to open up. Small inconspicuous male flowers and female flowers appear on separate trees in the spring. In the autumn, it produces clusters of small tan oval-shaped seeds (samara) (fruits) with a single wing. These seeds are attractive to birds such as Bobwhites, Cardinals, Purple Finches, Quail and Grosbeaks. The seeds are usually doubly dormant, that is, they require a winter chilling period followed by summer warming period before they will germinate. Green Ashes may grow to about ten feet in their first four years. Typically start producing flowers when twenty to twenty-five feet high. Native to eastern and central North America. Cultivated as an ornamental in North America. Best cultivated in USDA hardiness zones 3-9 in North America. Several cultivars exist. Propagated by seed and grafing. Most of the modern cultivars are clones of male trees, and thus will never produce any seeds.
Other names: Brown Ash, Darlington Ash, Lance-leaved Ash, Prairie Ash, Rim Ash, River Ash, Red Ash, Soft Ash, Swamp Ash, Water Ash, White Ash.
Note: I planted ten two-year-old seedlings around my yard on 14 May 2003. They were initially from 18" to 24" in length. They are all putting out leaves now. Some insect is taking nice half-round bites out of some of the leaves.
End.
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Contact author James K. Sayre at sayresayre@yahoo.com. Author's Email: sayresayre@yahoo.com
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Web page last updated on 27 June 2003.