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European Ash

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iEuropean Ash

European Ash shoot and leaf; note black bud

Conservation status

Secure

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Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Oleaceae
Genus:	Fraxinus
Species:	F. excelsior

Binomial name

Fraxinus excelsior
L.

The European Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is a tall tree, native to most of Europe, with the exception of northern Scandinavia (the northernmost location is in the Trondheimsfjord region of Norway) and southern Mediterranean Europe.

Image:Ash flower.JPG

It is a deciduous tree 20-35 m tall, and is readily distinguished from other species of ash in that it has black buds, unlike the brown buds of most other ashes. The leaves are 20-35 cm long, pinnate compound, with 9-13 leaflets. The leaves of the European Ash are often among the last to open in spring, and the first to fall in autumn if an early frost strikes.

The flowers open before the leaves, the female flowers being somewhat longer than the male flowers; they are dark purple, and without petals. Both male and female flowers can occur on the same tree, but it is common to find all male and all female trees.

Surprisingly, a tree that is all male one year can produce female flowers the next, and similarly a female tree can become male. The female flowers develop into fruits, and because they hang in bunches the fruits of the ash tree are known as 'ash keys'.

A number of Lepidoptera use the species as a food source.

[edit] Uses

Because of its high flexibility and resilience to splitting Ash wood is the traditional material for Bows, tool handles, tennis rackets and snooker cues; it is also used as firewood because it burns well even when 'green' (freshly cut). Ash was coppiced, often in hedgerows, and evidence in the form of some huge boles with multiple trunks emerging at head height can still be see in parts of Britain. In Nothumberland crab and lobster pots sometimes known as 'creeves' by local people are still made from ash sticks. Because of its elasticity European Ash wood was commonly used for walking sticks. Poles were cut from a coppice and the ends heated in steam. The wood could then be bent in a curved vice to form the handle of the walking stick.

The resilience and rapid growth of the European Ash made it an important resource for small holders and farmers, it was probably the most versatile wood in the countryside with wide ranging uses. Up until the second world war the trees were coppiced on a ten year cycle to provide a sustainable source of timber for fuel and poles for building and woodworking.

[edit] Cultivars

There are a number of cultivars including;

Fraxinus excelsior 'Aurea', see 'Jaspidea'
Fraxinus excelsior 'Aurea Pendula' (Weeping Golden Ash)
Fraxinus excelsior 'Autumn Blaze'
Fraxinus excelsior 'Autumn Purple'
Fraxinus excelsior 'Crispa'
Fraxinus excelsior 'Diversifolia' (One-leaved Ash)
Fraxinus excelsior 'Erosa'
Fraxinus excelsior 'Jaspidea' (Golden Ash)
Fraxinus excelsior 'Monophylla'
Fraxinus excelsior 'Nana'
Fraxinus excelsior 'Pendula' (Weeping Ash), one of the best known cultivars, widely planted during the Victorian era, it grows vigorously forming an attractive small to medium size tree with mounds of weeping branches.
Fraxinus excelsior 'Skyline'.