White Ash

White Ash

Fraxinus americana

Oleaceae (Olive Family)

▲ mature tree with fall color

▲ ▼ young trees with fall color

▲ leaves

▲ twigs and buds

▲ bark, gray, deeply furrowed

Location on campus: young trees line U-drive from National Avenue toward Carrington Hall.

Fraxinus americana: White Ash

• leaves opposite, deciduous, pinnately compound with usually 7 leaflets; leaflets oval with entire margins and pointed tip; dark green and glabrous above and glaucous underneath; leaflets 2-6" long and 1/2 as wide; often with deep red to purple fall color
• stems stout, gray or greenish and glabrous or glaucous; leaf scars U shaped
• bark gray with deep diamond-shaped furrows with gray scaly ridges
• grows 50-80' tall and 2/3 to equally tall, usually a rounded or upright oval shaped tree
• fruit is a samara; trees usually dioecious
• prefers full sun, moist, well-drained soils, but tolerated dry soils
• medium growth rate
• native to Missouri