Narrow-leafed Ash
Encyclopedia
Fraxinus angustifolia is a species of Fraxinus native to central and southern Europe
, northwest Africa
, and southwest Asia
.
It is a medium-sized deciduous
tree
growing to 20-30 m tall with a trunk up to 1.5 m diameter. The bark
is smooth and pale grey on young trees, becoming square-cracked and knobbly on old trees. The bud
s are pale brown, which readily distinguishes it from the related Fraxinus excelsior (black buds) even in winter. The leaves
are in opposite pairs or whorls of three, pinnate, 15-25 cm long, with 3-13 leaflets; the leaflets being distinctively slender, 3-8 cm long and 1-1.5 cm broad. The flower
s are produced in inflorescence
s which can be male, hermaphrodite or mixed male and hermaphrodite. The male and hermaphrodite flowers occur on all individuals, i.e. all trees are functionally hermaphrodite. Flowering occurs in early spring. The fruit
when fully formed is a samara
3-4 cm long, the seed 1.5-2 cm long with a pale brown wing 1.5-2 cm long.
There are four subspecies
, treated as distinct species by some authors:
In Sicily, it is cultivated as a source of a plant sap
product called manna (see Fraxinus ornus
).
of Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. oxycarpa
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, northwest Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and southwest Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
It is a medium-sized deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
growing to 20-30 m tall with a trunk up to 1.5 m diameter. The bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
is smooth and pale grey on young trees, becoming square-cracked and knobbly on old trees. The bud
Bud
In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of the stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be specialized to develop flowers or short shoots, or may have...
s are pale brown, which readily distinguishes it from the related Fraxinus excelsior (black buds) even in winter. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are in opposite pairs or whorls of three, pinnate, 15-25 cm long, with 3-13 leaflets; the leaflets being distinctively slender, 3-8 cm long and 1-1.5 cm broad. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are produced in inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s which can be male, hermaphrodite or mixed male and hermaphrodite. The male and hermaphrodite flowers occur on all individuals, i.e. all trees are functionally hermaphrodite. Flowering occurs in early spring. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
when fully formed is a samara
Samara (fruit)
A samara is a type of fruit in which a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue develops from the ovary wall. A samara is a simple dry fruit and indehiscent . It is a winged achene...
3-4 cm long, the seed 1.5-2 cm long with a pale brown wing 1.5-2 cm long.
There are four subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
, treated as distinct species by some authors:
- Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. angustifolia. Western Europe north to France, northwest Africa. Leaves with 7–13 leaflets; leaflets hairless beneath.
- Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. oxycarpa (M.Bieb. ex Willd.) Franco & Rocha Afonso (syn. F. oxycarpa M.Bieb. ex Willd.). Caucasian Ash. Eastern Europe north to the Czech Republic, southwest Asia east to northern Iran. Leaves with 3–9 leaflets; leaflets with white hairs on the lower half of the midribs.
- Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. syriaca Middle East and West Asia.
- Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. danubialis (described by Zdeněk Pouzar) Middle Europe.
In Sicily, it is cultivated as a source of a plant sap
Plant sap
Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. It transports water and nutrients throughout the plant....
product called manna (see Fraxinus ornus
Fraxinus ornus
Fraxinus ornus is a species of Fraxinus native to southern Europe and southwestern Asia, from Spain and Italy north to Austria and the Czech Republic, and east through the Balkans, Turkey, and western Syria to the Lebanon.It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 15–25 m tall with a trunk up...
).
Cultivars
of Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. angustifolia- 'Pendula VeraFraxinus angustifolia 'Pendula Vera'Fraxinus angustifolia 'Pendula Vera, or True Weeping Narrow-leafed Ash, is a weeping tree and a cultivar of Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. angustifolia, the Narrow-leafed Ash. It was first mentioned by Beissner, Schelle & Zabel in 1903...
', True Weeping Narrow-leafed Ash.
of Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. oxycarpa
- 'Raywood'Claret AshThe Claret Ash or Raywood Ash is a cultivar of ash tree, a seedling variant of the Caucasian Ash . The original seedling was discovered near a group of assorted ash trees in Sewell's nursery in the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia about 1910, and later grown at the nearby property Raywood...
. This cultivarCultivarA cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
is commonly planted as an ornamental tree in temperate regions; it has notable autumn colour, but has the major drawback of very brittle branches.