- The Ash Tree -

Deciduous forest tree.

Height : 100-120 feet (30.5-36.6 m)

Trunk diameter : 4-6 feet (1.2-1.8 m)

Ash has a strong framework with stout main branches growing upright and smaller branches spreading outward.

White ash is dioecious - male and female flowers are on separate trees. The little petalless flowers appear just before the leaves unfold in early spring. They are arranged in hanging clusters and not very showy. The fruits, produced in late summer, are winged samaras about 2 inches (5.1 cm) long, borne in crowded hanging clusters. They are thin and papery and look a little like dragonfly wings.

Ashes have opposite branching and their pinnately compound leaves are arranged along the branchlets in opposing pairs, with an odd leaflet at the end. The leaves of white ash are 8-14 inches (20.3-35.6 cm) long and have 5, 7 or 9 (usually 7) leaflets, each 3-5 inches (7.6-12.7 cm) long and pointed at the tip. They are thin and papery and dark green above and whitish beneath, turning shades of yellow, red or purple in autumn.

The bark of mature trees is dark brown and deeply fissured by interlacing ridges forming a characteristic diamond pattern.