Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Fraxinus americana
FAMILY
Oleaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about White Ash at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Fraxinus americana
FAMILY
Oleaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 153-01-002a:
Fraxinus americana var. americana FAMILY Oleaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Fraxinus americana
COMMON NAME:
White Ash, American Ash
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p47
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Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_873
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_fram2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_fram2_005_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm230228_1294
February Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
Bark gray, furrowed, with elongated ridges, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmfamericana_flwrand1
April Anderson County SC
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmfamericana_flwrand4
April Anderson County SC
Flowers purplish, 1/4" long, in compound clusters on previous year's growth, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmfamericana_malefar2
May Lancaster County SC
Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve
Many trees have only male flowers and never produce fruits, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
JK Marlow s040517_ab
May Greenville County SC
Roadside
Leaves with 7, sometimes 9, leaflets, pale beneath, often slightly hairy, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_f_americana_6_13_06_2
June
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_fraxinus_americana
June
)
Gill Newberry gn07_fracinus_americana
July
)
JK Marlow jkm120728_052
July Abbeville County SC
Parson's Mountain Recreation Area
Top margin of leaf scar deeply notched (1/3 to 1/2 of total depth), per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
COMPARE
leaf scars of Ash species
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_fraxinus_americana_c
July
Samara 1-2" long; terminal wing scarcely extends down side of fruit body, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
COMPARE
samaras of Ash species
)
Ron Lance rwl_famericana
July Jackson County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm111008_832
October Jackson County NC
Balsam Mountain Preserve
Bark gray, furrowed, with elongated ridges, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmfamericana_home2
Month Unknown Anderson County SC
Twigs, petioles, petiolules, and rachises glabrous, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmfamericana_home3
Month Unknown Anderson County SC
Samaras winged terminally (vs. Green Ash: wings partway along fruit sides), per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Fraxinus americana
FAMILY
Oleaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Fraxinus americana
FAMILY
Oleaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 153-01-002a:
Fraxinus americana var. americana
FAMILY
Oleaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Fraxinus americana
578
Tree
Perennial
Usually dioecious
Habitat: Mesic slopes, rich cove forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 5-7(9) leaflets
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring
Radially symmetrical
4-merous
Synsepalous calyx, lobes obsolete or nearly so
Petals absent
Usually unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Samara
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p044
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p290
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p146
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p112
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p252
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p058
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p04
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p238
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p146
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