Narrow-leafed Ash

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Narrow-leafed Ash

Foliage of subsp. oxycarpa

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Oleaceae
Genus:	Fraxinus
Species:	F. angustifolia

Binomial name

Fraxinus angustifolia
Vahl

The Narrow-leafed Ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) is a species of ash native to central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia.

It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 20-30 m tall. The buds are pale brown, which readily distinguishes it from the related European Ash (black buds) even in winter. The leaves are in opposite pairs or whorls of three, pinnate, 15-25 cm long, with 7-13 leaflets; the leaflets being distinctively slender, 3-8 cm long and 1-1.5 cm broad. Like all ashes, it is dioecious, with the male and female flowers on separate trees. 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 two subspecies, treated as distinct species by some authors:

Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. angustifolia. Western Europe north to France, northwest Africa.
Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. oxycarpa (syn. F. oxycarpa). Eastern Europe north to the Czech Republic, southwest Asia east to northern Iran.

The cultivar 'Raywood', derived from subsp. oxycarpa, is very commonly planted as an ornamental tree in temperate regions; it has notable autumn colour, but has the major drawback of very brittle branches.

[edit] References

Flora Europaea: Fraxinus angustifolia
Bean, W. J. (1976). Trees and shrubs hardy in the British Isles 8th ed., revised. John Murray.
Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. HarperCollins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.