Fraxinus quadrangulata
Common name:
Blue Ash
Pronunciation:
FRAK-si-nus kwa-drang-u-LA-ta
Family:
Oleaceae
Genus:
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Broadleaf deciduous tree, 50-70 ft (15-21 m) high, slow growing, narrow, rounded crown, often irregular; stems 4-sided, with 4 conspicuous ridges or wings. Leaves opposite, pinnate compound, 17-35 cm long, 5-11 leaflets, each leaflet 5-12 cm long and 2.5-5 cm wide, ovate to lanceolate, short stalked, tip acuminate, base wedge-shaped or rounded, sharply serrate, glossy dark green above, lighter below and pubescent along lower veins and midrib near base. Flowers perfect (bisexual), purplish. Fruit (samara) wings oblong, 2.5-5 cm long, 0.8-1.2 cm wide.
- Sun. Will grow in doughty soils and alkaline conditions.
- Hardy to USDA Zone 4 Native from southern Ontario to Michigan to Arkansas and Tennessee. The inner bark turns blue when exposed; a blue dye is obtained by macerating the inner bark in water.
- Alert: An invasive, non-native, insect pest, the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is present in Oregon and in much of the easthern U.S. The larvee of this pest feed on the inner bark of ash trees native to North America and Eurpoe, disrupting nutrient and water transport, which often results in tree death. For more information on this potentionally devistataing insect pest, click on Fraxinus in the Genus listing above.
- quadrangulata: with four angles., a reference to the four-angled appearance of the stems.
Click image to enlarge
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plant habit
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plant habit
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leaves
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leaf
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leaf
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leaflet, underside
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trunk, bark
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winter twigs, buds, stems
