Part 25

GREEN ASH Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.

Green ash is a common tree along streams as far west as the Guadalupe River. It attains a height of 50 feet or more, has spreading branches and a trunk ranging up to 2 feet in diameter. The TWIGS are smooth, round, and ashy gray, marked by pale lenticels and rusty bud-scales.

The BARK is ½ inch or more thick; brown, tinged with red, and slightly furrowed or ridged. The LEAVES are opposite compound, 10 to 12 inches long, with 5 to 9 pointed leaflets slightly toothed on the margin. They differ from those of white ash in being lustrous green on both sides or slightly paler beneath. The terminal leaflet is frequently askew from the main axis of the rachis.

The small, male and female FLOWERS occur on separate trees.

The FRUIT is flat, winged, 1 to 1½ inches long, ¼ to ⅓ inch wide, the wing portion extending well down past the middle of the terete, many-rayed body. The wing is sometimes square or slightly notched at the outer end.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, rather strong, brittle, and coarse-grained. It is used for the same purposes as white ash but is not as desirable.

SWAMP PRIVET (Common Adelia) Forestiera acuminata (Michx.) Poir.

Swamp privet or forestiera is found along river banks, lakes, and standing water over eastern Texas to the Colorado River. It is usually a large shrub but often becomes a small tree, less than 30 feet high, with a short trunk usually less than 8 inches in diameter. Its youngest branches are slender, somewhat hairy, slightly angular, and vary in color from yellowish-green to brown. They become darker and more rounded the second season.

The BARK is thin, dark brown to brownish-gray, close, and slightly ridged.

The LEAVES are thin, simple, opposite, 2½ to 4 inches long, 1 to 1½ inches wide, pointed at both ends, yellowish-green on the upper surface, paler on the lower surface, and slightly toothed above the middle.

The FLOWERS appear in April before the leaves. They are of two kinds, borne separately on the same tree, rather small and in clusters.

The FRUIT, a drupe, falls when ripe in May or June. It is about 1 inch long and ¼ inch wide, oblong, and tipped with a point. The ripe fruit is deep purple, and contains a tough, dry pulp and a one-seeded stone.

The WOOD is close-grained, yellowish-brown, weak, and rather soft. It has no economic use.

FRINGETREE (White Fringetree) Chionanthus virginicus L.

Children give this tree, with its drooping, fringy, white flowers, such names as “grancy-gray beard” and “old-man’s beard.” Beautiful both in flower and fruit, it is a desirable tree for ornamental planting. It occurs naturally in loamy soil over the eastern part of the state to the valley of the Brazos River and generally grows in the shade of other trees.

The BARK is similar to that of a young ash, but is rougher and whiter. It has tonic properties, and is used in domestic remedies.

The rather large, ovate LEAVES are 4 to 8 inches long, and ½ to 4 inches wide, dark green on the upper surface, paler underneath, and turning a clear bright yellow in autumn. The leaves are opposite, and leave conspicuous scars when they fall.

The odd white FLOWERS, which appear with the very young leaves, are borne in long, loose drooping panicles. The petals are very narrow and long, giving the effect of fringe.

The FRUIT is a dark blue-purple drupe, sometimes as much as an inch long, with a glaucous bloom, and borne in loose, drooping panicles. It is an excellent deer and bird food.

NORTHERN CATALPA (Western Catalpa) Catalpa speciosa Warder

Catalpa, often miscalled “catawba”, is found naturalized in eastern Texas and occurs on various qualities of soil, most frequently on rich, moist bottoms. It is a medium-sized tree, rarely exceeding 50 feet in height and 15 inches in diameter. The trunk is usually short and the head broad with spreading branches.

The BARK varies from dark gray to brown, and is slightly rough, being divided into narrow, shallow strips or flakes.

The LEAVES are simple, opposite, cordate-based, long-pointed, 6 to 10 inches long, and softly pubescent beneath.

The FLOWERS appear in clusters or panicles in April or May, and are 1 to 2 inches long, trumpet-shaped, the wavy and spreading corolla irregular, two-lobed, and with a narrow notch on the margin; corolla white with purple and yellow markings.

The FRUIT consists of a bean-like capsule 8 to 16 inches long and from ⅜ to ½ inch in diameter. It hangs on the tree over winter and gradually splits into two parts, or valves. The seeds are about 1 inch long and terminate in wings that are rounded and short-fringed at the ends.

The WOOD is rather soft, light, coarse-grained, and durable, in contact with the soil. It is used for fence posts, poles and fuel, and occasionally for railroad ties. It is a mistake to attempt to grow catalpa for fence posts or other uses except on good agricultural soil.

SOUTHERN CATALPA (C. bignonioides Walt.) has a thin, scaly bark, abruptly short-acuminate leaf, fetid when crushed. Margin of lower lobe of flower entire. The valves of the capsule flatten after dehiscence. The terminal tuft on the seed forms a point.

DESERTWILLOW Chilopsis linearis (Cav.) Sweet