Green
Ash
(Fraxinus
pennsylvanica Marsh.)
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Green
ash, also called red ash, is the most widely distributed of the
ashes. It is a common tree along rivers and low grounds in the
Piedmont and lower North Carolina mountains.
Trees with young twigs, undersides of leaves and leaf stalks covered
with soft, silky hairs are known as red ash, while the trees with
smooth leaves and twigs are called green ash.
The bark is a 1/2 inch or more thick. It is brown tinged with
red and is slightly furrowed or ridged.
The compound leaves, oppositely attached on the twigs, are 6 to
9 inches long and have 7 to 9 entire, or obscurely toothed, leaflets.
They are green on top and lighter green on the bottom. Sometimes,
in the case of the smooth form, they are a yellow-green on both
sides. The leaf scars are semi-round, usually with a straight
upper margin and seldom are lightly notched. The dormant leaf
bud is positioned above the leaf scar.
The flowers are small, with the male and female flowers growing
on different trees.
The fruit is a long and very narrow samara, flat and winged, I
to 2 1/2 inches long and 1/4 to 1/3 inch wide, with the wing portion
extending well past the middle of the seed-bearing part.
The wood is heavy, hard, rather strong, brittle and coarse-grained.
It is light-brown, with a rather broad layer of lighter sap wood.
It is valuable and used for the same purposes as white ash. |
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