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Fraxinus americana
White Ash
Oleaceae
Located next to Manchester Hall near Mirror Lake.
- leaves opposite, pinnate compound, with 5 to 9 leaflets
- leaflets ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, with smooth margins (unlike
somewhat serrated margins on F. pennsylvanica)
- leaves dark green; turning yellow-purple in fall (green ash is yellow)
- terminal bud large, flattened, rounded, with 4 to 6 scales, dark
brown (larger buds than green ash)
- lateral buds smaller, set in the leaf scar
- stems thick, coarse, with raised leaf scars that are rounded and
brown
- leaf scars often have a notch, unlike green ash
- stems smooth unlike somewhat fuzzy young twigs of F. pennsylvanica
- stems appear with characteristic swellings ("pretzel with salt")
when viewed from afar
- flowers inconspicuous in early spring
- fruit is an elongated samara, in clusters, like a boat paddle, falling
early
- bark dark gray, with characteristic deep furrows and narrow ridges
- habit is a medium to large single-stem shade tree
- plant develops an open crown and coarse texture with thick branches
View Fraxinus
Americana page in the UConn Plant Database
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