Part 25

Leaves: Opposite, simple; blades elliptic, pointed at the tip, tapering to the base, up to 4 inches long, up to 1½ inches broad, finely toothed along part of the edges, yellow-green and nearly smooth on the upper surface, paler and smooth on the lower surface; leafstalks slender, usually smooth, up to ½ inch long.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne separately on different trees, appearing before the leaves begin to unfold; staminate many in rounded clusters, yellow, without petals; pistillate several in branched clusters, yellowish, without petals.

Fruit: Slender, oblong, slightly curved, dark purple, about 1 inch long, up to ¼ inch wide, fleshy but dry, containing 1 seed.

Use: Occasionally planted as an ornamental.

Habitat: Swamps, along rivers.

Range: South Carolina across to Kansas, south to Texas, east to Florida.

Distinguishing Features: Swamp Privet is distinguished by its opposite, pointed leaves which are finely toothed along the edges.

WHITE ASH Fraxinus americana L.

Growth Form: Large tree up to 100 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 4 feet; crown pyramidal or ovoid, with slender branches; trunk straight, columnar.

Bark: Light or dark gray, with diamond-shaped furrows between flat-topped, sometimes scaly, ridges.

Twigs: Slender, gray or brown, sometimes with a few hairs; leaf scars opposite, horseshoe-shaped, with several bundle traces forming a half-moon.

Buds: Rounded, dark brown, finely hairy, up to ½ inch long.

Leaves: Opposite, pinnately compound, with 5-9 leaflets; leaflets lance-shaped to lance-ovate, often curved, pointed at the tip, rounded or tapering to the base, up to 5 inches long and about half as broad, shallowly toothed along the edges, green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and smooth or hairy on the lower surface.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne on separate trees before the leaves begin to expand, minute, without petals, purplish, in crowded clusters, soon becoming elongated and less crowded.

Fruit: Paddle-shaped, winged, up to 2½ inches long and ¼ inch wide, several in a cluster, 1-seeded at the base.

Wood: Heavy, strong, hard, coarse-grained, brown.

Uses: Furniture, baseball bats, tool handles, interior finishing.

Habitat: Bottomlands and wooded slopes.

Range: Nova Scotia across to Minnesota, south to Texas and Florida.

Distinguishing Features: White Ash differs from Green Ash in having distinctly paler lower leaf surfaces. Plants with hairy leaves resemble Red Ash, but the fruits do not have the wing extending down beyond the seed in the White Ash.

BLACK ASH Fraxinus nigra Marsh.

Growth Form: Medium tree up to 70 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 2 feet; crown broadly rounded, with many stout, straight branches.

Bark: Light gray, scaly, without diamond-shaped furrows.

Twigs: Stout, gray or brown, smooth; leaf scars elliptic or oval, with several bundle traces arranged in a half moon.

Buds: Conical, blue-black, finely hairy, about one-fourth inch long.

Leaves: Opposite, pinnately compound, with 7-11 leaflets; leaflets without stalks, lance-shaped, long-pointed at the tip, tapering or rounded at the sometimes asymmetrical base, up to 6 inches long, less than one-half as wide, toothed along the edges, dark green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and with rusty hairs along the veins on the lower surface. The leaflets turn reddish-brown in the autumn.

Flowers: Small, in elongated clusters, appearing before the leaves begin to unfold, purplish, without any petals, some with both stamens and pistils, others only with stamens, others only with pistils.

Fruit: Oblong, winged fruits, barely notched at the tip, up to 1½ inches long, up to one-half inch broad, with a single seed at the base.