fraxinus

{{Short description|Genus of plants}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image = Koeh-062.jpg

|image_caption = Fraxinus ornus
1862 illustrationFranz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen

|display_parents = 2

|parent_authority =

|taxon = Fraxinus

|authority = L.{{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?4752 |title=Fraxinus L. |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |date=3 April 2006 |access-date=21 August 2016}}

|synonyms_ref =

|synonyms =

  • Ornus Boehm.
  • Fraxinoides Medik.
  • Mannaphorus Raf.
  • Calycomelia Kostel.
  • Leptalix Raf.
  • Ornanthes Raf.
  • Samarpses Raf.
  • Aplilia Raf.
  • Meliopsis Rchb.
  • Petlomelia Nieuwl.

}}

File:Ash flower.JPG

File:NarrowleafAsh.jpg

Fraxinus ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|r|æ|k|s|ᵻ|n|ə|s}}), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae,{{cite book |title=Western Garden Book |year=1995 |pages=606–07 |publisher=Sunset Books |edition=6th |isbn=978-0376038500}} and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some subtropical species are evergreen trees. The genus is widespread throughout much of Europe, Asia, and North America.{{cite web |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=369462 |title=Fraxinus |work=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Kew Royal Botanical Gardens| access-date=16 April 2016}}{{cite web |url= http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/floraspecie.php?genere=Fraxinus |title=Fraxinus |work=Altervista Flora Italiana |access-date=16 April 2016}}{{cite web |url= http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=113002 |work=Flora of China |volume=15 |pages=273 |via= 衿属 qin shu |title=Fraxinus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1057. 1753}}Philips, Roger (1979). [https://books.google.com/books?id=FV62KNVkDNIC Trees of North America and Europe: A Guide to Field Identification, Revised and Updated]. New York: Random House. {{ISBN|0-394-50259-0}}. {{oclc|4036251}}.{{cite web |url=https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=FRAXI |title=Genus Fraxinus |publisher=US Department of Agriculture |access-date=21 August 2016}}

The leaves are opposite (rarely in whorls of three), and mostly pinnately compound, though simple in a few species. The seeds, popularly known as "keys" or "helicopter seeds", are a type of fruit known as a samara. Some Fraxinus species are dioecious, having male and female flowers on separate plants but sex in ash is expressed as a continuum between male and female individuals, dominated by unisexual trees. With age, ash may change their sexual function from predominantly male and hermaphrodite towards femaleness;{{Clarify|date=October 2021|reason= Since there are male, female, and mixed sex ashes, it is unclear why this statement is suggesting the male and hermaphrodite trees become female with age; have not found another reference for this claim}}Gender variation in ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) Pierre Binggeli & James Power (1991) if grown as an ornamental and both sexes are present, ashes can cause a considerable litter problem with their seeds.

Rowans, or mountain ashes, have leaves and buds superficially similar to those of true ashes, but belong to the unrelated genus Sorbus in the rose family.

Etymology

The tree's common English name, "ash", traces back to the Old English æsc, which relates to the Proto-Indo-European for the tree, while the generic name originated in Latin from a Proto-Indo-European word for birch. Both words are also used to mean "spear" in their respective languages, as the wood is good for shafts.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU3RIV2BWIC |title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European culture |editor1-first=J. P. |editor1-last=Mallory |editor2-first=Douglas Q. |editor2-last=Adams |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1997 |isbn=978-1-884964-98-5 |page=32}}

Selected species

Species are arranged into sections supported by phylogenetic analysis:{{cite web |url=http://www.oleaceae.info/publications/Wallander2008.pdf |title=Systematics of Fraxinus (Oleaceae) and evolution of dioecy |access-date=28 August 2016}}{{cite journal|title=The Phylogeny and Biogeographic History of Ashes ( Fraxinus, Oleaceae) Highlight the Roles of Migration and Vicariance in the Diversification of Temperate Trees|first1=Damien Daniel|last1=Hinsinger|first2=Jolly|last2=Basak|first3=Myriam|last3=Gaudeul|first4=Corinne|last4=Cruaud|first5=Paola|last5=Bertolino|first6=Nathalie|last6=Frascaria-Lacoste|first7=Jean|last7=Bousquet|date=21 November 2013|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=8|issue=11|pages=e80431|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0080431|pmid=24278282|pmc=3837005|bibcode=2013PLoSO...880431H|doi-access=free}}

; Section Dipetalae

; Section Fraxinus

; Section Melioides sensu lato

; Section Melioides sensu stricto

; Section Ornus

; Section Pauciflorae

; Section Sciadanthus

  • Fraxinus dimorpha
  • Fraxinus hubeiensis Ch'u & Shang & Su – 湖北梣, Hubei qin
  • Fraxinus xanthoxyloides (G.Don) Wall. ex DC. – Afghan ash{{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?4752 |title=Species Records of Fraxinus |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |access-date=22 February 2010}}{{cite web |url=https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=32928 |title=Fraxinus L. |work=ITIS Standard Reports |publisher=Integrated Taxonomic Information System |access-date=22 February 2010}}

File:EurAshSeeds.jpg|Closeup of European ash seeds

File:Fraxinus ornus JPG1b.jpg|F. ornus

File:Treelets on fallen Ash tree.JPG|Unusual "treelets" growing from a fallen ash tree in Lawthorn Wood, Ayrshire, Scotland

Ecology

North American native ash tree species are a critical food source for North American frogs, as their fallen leaves are particularly suitable for tadpoles to feed upon in ponds (both temporary and permanent), large puddles, and other water bodies.{{cite journal |last1=Stephens |first1=Jeffrey |last2=Bervan |first2=Keith |last3=Tiegs |first3=Scott |date=3 May 2013 |title=Anthropogenic changes to leaf litter input affect the fitness of a larval amphibian |journal=Freshwater Biology |volume=58 |issue=8 |pages=1631–1646 |doi=10.1111/fwb.12155 |bibcode=2013FrBio..58.1631S }} Lack of tannins in the American ash makes their leaves a good food source for the frogs, but also reduces its resistance to the ash borer. Species with higher leaf tannin levels (including maples and non-native ash species) are taking the place of native ash, thanks to their greater resistance to the ash borer. They produce much less suitable food for the tadpoles, resulting in poor survival rates and small frog sizes.

Ash species native to North America also provide important habitat and food for various other creatures native to North America. This includes the larvae of multiple long-horn beetles, as well as other insects including those in the genus Tropidosteptes, lace bugs, aphids, larvae of gall flies, and caterpillars. Birds are also interested in black, green, and white ash trees. The black ash alone supports wood ducks, wild turkey, cardinals, pine grosbeaks, cedar waxwings, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers, with habitat and food (such as the sap being of interest to the sapsucker) among others. Many mammalian species from meadow voles eating the seeds to white-tailed deer eating the foliage to silver-haired bats nesting will also make use of ash trees.{{cite web|title=Black Ash|url=https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/black_ash.html|website=Illinois Wildflowers|publisher=Dr. John Hilty|access-date=27 August 2018}}{{cite web|title=White Ash|url=https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/white_ash.html|website=Illinois Wildflowers|publisher=Dr. John Hilty|access-date=27 August 2018}}{{cite web|title=Green Ash|url=https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/green_ash.htm|website=Illinois Wildflowers|publisher=Dr. John Hilty|access-date=27 August 2018}}{{cite web|title=Red Ash|url=https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/red_ash.htm|website=Illinois Wildflowers|publisher=Dr. John Hilty|access-date=27 August 2018}}

Ash is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species (butterflies and moths).

Threats

File:Canker on Ash.JPG on an ash tree in North Ayrshire, Scotland]]

= North America =

File:Agrilus planipennis 001.jpg

The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), also called EAB, is a wood-boring beetle accidentally introduced to North America from eastern Asia via solid wood packing material in the late 1980s to early 1990s. It has killed tens of millions of trees in 22 states in the United States{{cite web |url=http://www.emeraldashborer.info/about-eab.php |website=Emerald Ash Borer Information Network |title=About Emerald Ash Borer |first=Derek|last=Moy}} and adjacent Ontario and Quebec in Canada. It threatens some seven billion ash trees in North America. Research is being conducted to determine whether three native Asian wasps that are natural predators of EAB could be used as a biological control for the management of EAB populations in the United States. The public is being cautioned to avoid transporting unfinished wood products, such as firewood, to slow the spread of this insect pest.{{cite web|title=The Problem|url=http://www.dontmovefirewood.org/the-problem.html|work=Don't Move Firewood|access-date=14 October 2011}}

Damage occurs when emerald ash borer larvae feed on the inner bark, phloem, inside branches and tree trunks. Feeding on the phloem prevents nutrients and water transportation. If the ash is attacked, the branches can die and eventually the whole tree can as well.{{cite report |title=Emerald Ash Borer and Your Woodland |series=Extension Bulletin E-2943 |url=http://www.emeraldashborer.info/documents/E-2943.pdf |publisher=Michigan State University Extension |date=September 2007}} Ways to detect emerald ash borer infestation include seeing bark peeling off, vertical cracks in the bark, seeing galleries within the tree that contain powdery substance, and D-shaped exit holes on the branches or trunk. Not all of these may be present, but any of these warning signs could be an indication of possible infestation.{{cite report |url=https://emeraldashborerinsouthdakota.sd.gov/PDF/How-To-Identify-an-Ash-Tree-Infested-by-EAB_06-2001-2018.pdf |title=How to Identify an Ash Tree Infested by Emerald Ash Borer |publisher=SDSU Extension |last=Ball |first=John |date=April 2018}}

= Europe =

The European ash, Fraxinus excelsior, has been affected by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, causing ash dieback{{cite journal|vauthors=Kowalski T |date=2006 |title=Chalara fraxinea sp. nov. associated with dieback of ash (Fraxinus excelsior) in Poland |journal=Forest Pathology |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=264–270|doi=10.1111/j.1439-0329.2006.00453.x }} in a large number of trees since the mid-1990s, particularly in eastern and northern Europe.{{cite journal |vauthors=Halmschlager E, Kirisits T |year=2008 |url=http://www.bspp.org.uk/publications/new-disease-reports/july2008/2008-25.asp |title=First report of the ash dieback pathogen Chalara fraxinea on Fraxinus excelsior in Austria |journal=New Disease Reports |volume=17 |pages=20 |access-date=10 February 2010 |archive-date=29 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929053106/http://www.bspp.org.uk/publications/new-disease-reports/july2008/2008-25.asp |url-status=dead }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Ogris N, Hauptman T, Jurc D |year=2009 |url=http://www.bspp.org.uk/publications/new-disease-reports/ndr.php?id=019015 |title=Chalara fraxinea causing common ash dieback newly reported in Slovenia |journal=New Disease Reports |volume=19 |pages=15 |access-date=10 February 2010 |archive-date=9 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091109042759/http://www.bspp.org.uk/publications/new-disease-reports/ndr.php?id=019015 |url-status=dead }} The disease has infected about 90% of Denmark's ash trees.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20079657 |title='Ash dieback' fungus Chalara fraxinea in UK countryside |work=BBC |date=25 October 2012 |access-date=25 October 2012}} At the end of October 2012 in the UK, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) reported that ash dieback had been discovered in mature woodland in Suffolk; previous occurrences had been on young trees imported from Europe.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20079657 BBC News 'Ash dieback' fungus, Chalara fraxinea found in UK countryside. Retrieved 25 October 2012]. In 2016, the ash tree was reported as in danger of extinction in Europe.{{cite news |last=Marshall |first=Claire |date=23 March 2016 |title=Ash tree set for extinction in Europe |work=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35876621}}

Uses

Ash is a hardwood and is dense (within 20% of 670 kg/m3 for Fraxinus americana,{{cite web |url=http://www.nichetimbers.co.uk/north-american-hardwood/ash/ |title=White Ash |publisher=Niche Timbers |access-date=22 February 2010}} and higher at 710 kg/m3 for Fraxinus excelsior{{cite web |url=http://www.nichetimbers.co.uk/native-hardwood/ash/ |title=Ash |publisher=Niche Timbers |access-date=22 February 2010}}), tough and very strong but elastic, extensively used for making bows, tool handles, baseball bats, hurleys, and other uses demanding high strength and resilience.

File:Flamed Quartersawn Ash Guitar Top.jpg ash guitar top, unmilled]]

Ash is a tonewood commonly used in the manufacture of electric guitars.{{cite web | url=https://www.fender.com/articles/tech-talk/ash-vs-alder-whats-the-diff | title=Ash vs. Alder: What's the Difference? }} It exhibits a pronounced bright tone with a scooped midrange.{{cite web | url=https://neaera.com/best-wood-for-electric-guitars/#Bright_sound_and_Fender_twang_Ash | title=Best wood for electric guitars | Full guide matching wood & tone | date=16 September 2022 }} It is lightweight, easy to work and sand,{{cite web | url=https://www.timberblogger.com/ash-wood-properties-and-its-advantages-and-disadvantages/ | title=Ash Wood | Its Advantages and Disadvantages | date=26 March 2021 }} accepts glue, stain, paint and finish very well and is inexpensive. All this has made it a favourite of large factories mass-producing instruments. The Fender musical instrument company has been continuously and uninterruptedly using Ash to make electric guitars since 1956. Swamp ash is used a lot in guitar building because of its figure. It is a choice of material for electric guitar bodies[https://www.commercialforestproducts.com/good-swamp-ash/ SWAMP ASH Lumber Guide: 8/4 Lightweight Guitar Wood 2020] 15 December 2018 www.commercialforestproducts.com, accessed 27 September 2020 and, less commonly, for acoustic guitar bodies, known for its bright, cutting edge and sustaining quality. Some Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters are made of ash, (such as Bruce Springsteen's Telecaster on the Born to Run album cover), as an alternative to alder.

Ash is also used for making drum shells.

File:Ash_Table_by_Ben_Barclay.jpg

Woodworkers generally consider ash a "poor cousin" to the other major open pore wood, oak, but it is useful in any furniture application. Ash veneers are extensively used in office furniture. Ash is not used much outdoors due to the heartwood having a low durability to ground contact, meaning it will typically perish within five years. The F. japonica species is favored as a material for making baseball bats by Japanese sporting-goods manufacturers.{{cite web|url=http://www.mitsuwa-tiger.com/batmuseum/process.html|title=美津和タイガー/野球博物館/バットのできるまで |trans-title=Mitsuwa Tiger / Baseball Hall / Bat |website=www.mitsuwa-tiger.com}}

Its robust structure, good looks, and flexibility combine to make ash ideal for staircases. Ash stairs are extremely hard-wearing, which is particularly important for treads. Due to its elasticity, ash can also be steamed and bent to produce curved stair parts such as volutes (curled sections of handrail) and intricately shaped balusters. However, a reduction in the supply of healthy trees, especially in Europe, is making ash an increasingly expensive option.

Ash was commonly used for the structural members of the bodies of cars made by carriage builders. Early cars had frames which were intended to flex as part of the suspension system to simplify construction. The Morgan Motor Company of Great Britain still manufactures sports cars with frames made from ash. It was also widely used by early aviation pioneers for aircraft construction.

It lights and burns easily, so is used for starting fires and barbecues, and is usable for maintaining a fire, though it produces only a moderate heat. The two most economically important species for wood production are white ash, in eastern North America, and European ash in Europe. The green ash (F. pennsylvanica) is widely planted as a street tree in the United States. The inner bark of the blue ash (F. quadrangulata) has been used as a source for blue dye.

In Sicily, Italy, sugars are obtained by evaporating the sap of the manna ash, extracted by making small cuts in the bark. The manna ash, native to southern Europe and southwest Asia, produces a blue-green sap, which has medicinal value as a mild laxative, demulcent, and weak expectorant. The young seedpods, also known as "keys", are edible for human consumption. In Britain, they are traditionally pickled with vinegar, sugar and spices.{{cite web | url=https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2021/06/foraging-in-june/ | title=Foraging in June | date=24 June 2021 }}

Mythology and folklore <span class="anchor" id="Cultural aspects"></span>

In Greek mythology, the Meliae are nymphs associated with the ash, perhaps specifically of the manna ash (Fraxinus ornus), as dryads were nymphs associated with the oak. They appear in Hesiod's Theogony, which states that they were born when drops of Ouranos's blood fell on the earth (Gaia).

In Norse mythology, a vast, evergreen ash tree Yggdrasil ("the steed (gallows) of Odin"), watered by three magical springs, serves as axis mundi, sustaining the nine worlds of the cosmos in its roots and branches. Askr, the first man in Norse myth, literally means 'ash'.{{Cite book|last=Simek|first=Rudolf|author-link=Rudolf Simek|translator=Angela Hall |title=Dictionary of Northern Mythology |year=2007 |publisher=D.S. Brewer|isbn=978-0-85991-513-7}}

In Italian folklore, an ash stake could be used to kill a vampire.{{Cite book|last=Del Lao|first=Nero|title=Perpetuum Mobile: Il Segreto per non Morire |year=2013 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation|isbn=978-1-49313-8388}}

See also

  • Æ, the letter ash

References

{{Reflist}}