#94 COMMON ASH
Fraxinus excelsior
Planted: circa 1929
This tree is on the east side of the Philadelphus Walk on the Edward Road fence.
| Distribution: | Native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and west to the British Isles and north to southern Norway. Widely cultivated and naturalised in New Zealand and in scattered localities in the U.S. and Canada. Threatened by Ash dieback, caused by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, which is likely to kill up to 90%. |
| Planting Date: | Self sown in the hedge line which was planted circa 1800. It is unlikely that this tree was part of the original planting. |
| Growth Habit: | It is a large deciduous tree with a tall, narrow crown. |
| Bark: | Smooth and pale grey on young trees, becoming thick and vertically fissured on old trees. The shoots are stout, greenish-grey, with jet-black buds (which distinguish it from most other ash species, which have grey or brown buds). |
| Leaf: | Opposite, 20 to 35 cm long, pinnately compound, with 7 to 13 leaflets with coarsely serrated margins. Elliptic to narrowly elliptic, 3 to 12 cm long and 0.8 to 3 cm broad and sessile on the leaf rachis with no stiples. These features distinguish ash from Sorbus aucuparia (Mountain Ash) in which the leaves are alternate with paired stipules. The leaves are often among the last to open in spring, and the first to fall in autumn; if an early frost strikes. They often fall dull green or develop a bright yellow autumn colour. |
| Flowers: | Borne in short panicles, whick open before the leaves, and have no perianth. The female flowers are somewhat longer than the male flowers, dark purple, without petals, and are wind-pollinated. Both male and female flowers can occur on the same tree, but it is more common to find all male and all female trees. A tree that is all male one year can produce female flowers the next, and similarly a female tree can become male. |
| Fruit: | A samara 2.5 to 4.5 cm long and 5 to 8 mm broad, often hanging in bunches through the winter; called ‘ash keys’. If the fruit is gathered and planted when it is still green and not fully ripe, it will germinate straight away, however once the fruit is brown and fully ripe, it will not germinate until 18 months after sowing – not until two winters have passed. |
| Toxicity: | Ash bark and leaves are used in modern herbal medicine for its astringent and laxative properties. |
| Potential tree size: | 12 to 18 m |
| Uses: | Resilience and rapid growth make it an important resource for smallholders and farmers. Often coppiced on a 10-year cycle. Valuable as firewood because it splits easily and burns well. |
| Ecology: | Over 100 species of insects and mites use ash as a food plant, of which 29 are specific. |
| Introduction Date: | Native |
| Anecdotes and Comments: | In Norse Methology, the vast ash tree “Yggdrasil” (the gallows of Odin), watered by three magical springs, serves as axis mundi, sustaining the nine worlds of the cosmos in its roots and branches. Lovers on the Isle of Bute, in Scotland, reportedly used to eat leaves of the “Dreamin’ Tree”. Their dreams revealed their spouse and fate. |
