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| Ash | ||||||||||||
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| Ash tree leaves and seeds. Photo ©2004 S. Sweeney Monday Garden | ||||||||||||
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Fraxinus americana -- White ash Fraxinus angustifolia -- Narrowleaf ash Fraxinus anomala -- Single-leaf ash Fraxinus apertisquamifera Fraxinus caroliniana -- Water ash Fraxinus cuspidata -- Fragrant ash Fraxinus dipetala -- Two-petal ash Fraxinus dubia Fraxinus excelsior -- Common ash Fraxinus baroniana Fraxinus bungeana -- Bunge's ash Fraxinus chinensis -- Chinese ash Fraxinus chiisanensis Fraxinus floribunda Fraxinus gooddingii -- Goodding's ash Fraxinus greggii -- Gregg's ash Fraxinus griffithii Fraxinus holotricha Fraxinus hubeiensis Fraxinus lanuginosa Fraxinus latifolia -- Oregon ash Fraxinus longicuspis -- Japanese ash Fraxinus malacophylla Fraxinus mandshurica -- Manchurian ash Fraxinus micrantha Fraxinus nigra -- Black ash Fraxinus ornus -- Manna ash Fraxinus papillosa -- Chihuahua ash Fraxinus paxiana Fraxinus pennsylvanica -- Green ash Fraxinus platypoda Fraxinus profunda -- Pumpkin ash Fraxinus purpusii Fraxinus quadrangulata -- Blue ash Fraxinus raibocarpa Fraxinus rufescens Fraxinus uhdei -- Shamel ash Fraxinus sieboldiana -- Japanese flowering ash Fraxinus spaethiana Fraxinus trifoliata Fraxinus velutina -- Velvet ash Fraxinus xanthoxyloides -- Afghan ash | ||||||||||||
| *Some botanists include the Oleaceae in the order Lamiales. | ||||||||||||
Ash is the name of three very distinct group of trees. It generally refers to trees of the Genus Fraxinus, but in North America, "ash" may also refer to species of Sorbus, more accurately known as Rowans and Whitebeams. In Australia, "mountain ash" refers to a type of eucalyptus, Eucalyptus regnans, one of the tallest trees in the world.
The Genus Fraxinus is in the olive family (Family Oleaceae). Ashes are usually medium to large trees. Most have pinnately-compound, opposite leaves. Seeds are borne in keys, a type of fruit known as a samara.
The White ash is a particularly important timber tree in eastern North America, and is the source of wood for quality wooden baseball bats. The Green ash is widely planted as a street tree in the United States. The inner bark of the Blue ash has been used as a source for a blue dye.
Ashes of eastern North America
Ashes of western and southwestern North America
Ashes of the Western Palearctic (Europe, north Africa and southwest Asia)
Ashes of the Eastern Palearctic (central & eastern Asia)
Cultural aspects
In Norse mythology, the World Tree, Yggdrasil, was an ash tree, and the man, Ask, was formed from an ash tree (the first woman was made from alder). Elsewhere in Europe, snakes were said to be repelled by ash leaves or a circle drawn by an ash branch. Irish folklore claims that shadows from an ash tree damage crops. In Cheshire, it is said that ash could be used to cure warts or rickets.
See also; Trees of Britain, Trees of the world