FloraFinder.org
Home   About Us   FAQ  
Searching   Image Use Plant Books
x
FloraFinder uses cookies only for correct operation. More info. Okay

Fraxinus americana L.

White ash, American ash

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassMagnoliopsidaDicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
SubclassAsteridaeA large class that encompasses asters
OrderLamialesAromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary
FamilyOleaceaeTemperate climate shrubs, trees and a few vines, include forsythia, ash, jasmine, privet, olive, lilac, and many others
GenusFraxinusThe classical Latin name for ash
Speciesamericana“Of or from America”

About plant names...

White ash is native to eastern and central North America. It prefers rich moist (but not soggy) deciduous and mixed forests.

Plants: Up to 131′ (40 m). Bark is light gray, and distinctively fissured.

Leaves: Compound, 8-15″ (20-38 cm), odd pinnate, comprised of 5-9 leaflets (usually 7). Leaflets are 3-5″ (7.6-12 cm) long, oval to somewhere between oblong and lanceolate. White ash is so named because the leaf undersides are whitish, much paler than the leaf tops. Leaves turn yellow or red in the fall. Twigs have C-shaped leaf scars.

Flowers: Trees are mostly dioecious—male and female flowers appear on separate trees. Clusters of small flowers appear on branch tips. Both male and female flowers are purple, and lack petals. Flowers appear from April to May.

Fruits: Drooping clusters of winged samaras, each up to 2″ (5 cm) long.

These are closely similar:

 

Fraxinus americana (white ash, American ash)

6/13/2011 · Great Falls State Park, Washington, DC

Fraxinus americana (white ash, American ash)

6/13/2011 · Great Falls State Park, Washington, DC

Fraxinus americana (white ash, American ash)

9/13/2020 · Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm)

  You are here
Fraxinus americana

Fraxinus pennsylvanica
Common Name

white ash

green ash
Plant Up to 131′ (40 m). Bark is light gray, and distinctively fissured. 39-82′ (12-25 m) tall, with a trunk up to 2′ (60 cm) in diameter. Smooth gray bark in young trees gives way to fissured bark in older trees.
Flowers Trees are mostly dioecious—male and female flowers appear on separate trees. Clusters of small flowers appear on branch tips. Both male and female flowers are purple, and lack petals. Flowers appear from April to May. Inconspicuous purplish flower panicles appear on leaf tips. Each flower lacks petals. They appear from April to May, after the foliage.
Leaves Compound, 8-15″ (20-38 cm), odd pinnate, comprised of 5-9 leaflets (usually 7). Leaflets are 3-5″ (7.6-12 cm) long, oval to somewhere between oblong and lanceolate. Leaf undersides are whitish, much paler than the leaf tops. Leaves turn yellow or red in the fall. Twigs have C-shaped leaf scars. Opposite, 1-2½′ (38-76 cm) long. Each leaf is odd pinnate, comprised of 5-9 leaflets. Each leaflet is 1¾-6″ long ⨉ ⅜-3½″ wide (5-15 ⨉ 1.2-9 cm). Leaves are dark green both above and below. They turn yellow in the fall.
Fruit Drooping clusters of winged samaras, each up to 2″ (5 cm) long. Dense, drooping clusters of samaras. Each samara is 1-3″ long ⨉ ¼-5/16″ wide (2.5-7.6 cm ⨉ 6.3-8.5 mm), light green, and contains a single seed.
Range/ Zones

USDA Zones: 3-9

USDA Zones: 3-9
Habitats Rich moist (but not soggy) deciduous and mixed forests. Bottomlands, floodplains, riverbanks, wetlands.
Type Wild Wild

 

Online References:

Www.cabidigitallibrary.org

The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service

Gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org

The Missouri Botanical Garden

Wikipedia

References:

Nelson, Gil; Earle, Christopher J.; Spellenberg, Richard; More, David (Illus.); Hughes, Amy K. (Ed.), Trees of Eastern North America, Princeton University Press, 2014, p. 454

Fraxinus americana (white ash, American ash)

8/9/2012 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Big Tree Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

Fraxinus americana L. var. biltmoreana (Beadle) J. Wright ex Fernald

Fraxinus americana L. var. crassifolia Sarg.

Fraxinus americana L. var. curtissii (Vasey) Small

Fraxinus americana L. var. juglandifolia (Lam.) Rehder

Fraxinus americana L. var. microcarpa A. Gray

Fraxinus biltmoreana Beadle

 

Fraxinus americana description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 11 Sep 2023.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.


 

Fraxinus americana (white ash, American ash)

8/9/2012 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Big Tree Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 9 × 14″ (23 × 35 cm)

Range: Zones 3-9:

About this map...