Handbook of the Trees of New England Part 34

=Bark.=--Trunk in old trees dark, rough, deeply furrowed, separating into small, firm sections; large limbs dark reddish-brown; season's shoots green, turning to brown.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds oblong, conical, short. Leaves simple, alternate, 3-6 inches long, about half as wide, dark green and mostly glossy above, somewhat lighter and minutely downy (at least when young) beneath, ovate to oval, entire; apex acute to ac.u.minate; base acute, rounded or truncate; leafstalk short; stipules none.

=Inflorescence.=--June. Sterile and fertile flowers on separate or on the same trees; not conspicuous, axillary; sterile often in cl.u.s.ters, fertile solitary; calyx 4-6-parted; corolla 4-6-parted; about 1/2 inch long, pale yellow, thickish, urn-shaped, constricted at the mouth and somewhat smaller in the sterile flowers; stamens 16 in the sterile flowers, in fertile flowers 8 or less, imperfect; styles 4, ovary 8-celled.

=Fruit.=--A berry, ripe in late fall, roundish, about an inch in diameter, larger farther south, with thick, spreading, persistent calyx, yellow to yellowish-brown, very astringent when immature, edible and agreeable to the taste after exposure to the frost; several-seeded.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy along the south sh.o.r.e of New England; prefers well-drained soil in open situations; free from disfiguring enemies; occasionally cultivated in nurseries but difficult to transplant. Propagated from seed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE Lx.x.xII.--Diospyros Virginiana.]

1. Winter buds.

2. Branch with sterile flowers.

3. Vertical section of sterile flower.

4. Branch with fertile flowers.

5. Section of fertile flower.

6. Fruiting branch.

OLEACEae. OLIVE FAMILY.

Fraxinus Americana, L.

WHITE ASH.

=Habitat and Range.=--Rich or moist woods, fields and pastures, near streams.

Newfoundland and Nova Scotia to Ontario.

Maine,--very common, often forming large forest areas; in the other New England states, widely distributed, but seldom occurring in large ma.s.ses.

South to Florida; west to Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas.

=Habit.=--A tall forest tree, 50-75 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 2-3 feet; rising in the rich bottom lands of the Ohio river 100 feet or more, often in the forest half its height without a limb. In open ground the trunk, separating at a height of a few feet, throws off two or three large limbs, and is soon lost amid the slender, often gently curving branches, forming a rather open, rounded head widest at or near the base, with light and graceful foliage, and a stout, rather spa.r.s.e, glabrous, and sometimes flattish spray.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk in mature trees easily distinguishable at some distance by the characteristic gray color and uniform striation; ridges prominent, narrow, flattish, firm, without surface scales but with fine transverse seams; furrows fine and strong, sinuous, parallel or connecting at intervals; large limbs more or less furrowed; smaller branches smooth and grayish-green; season's shoots polished olive green; leaf-scars prominent.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds short, rather prominent, smooth, dark or pale rusty brown. Leaves pinnately compound, opposite, 6-12 inches long; petiole smooth and grooved; leaflets 5-9, 2-5 inches long, deep green and smooth above, paler and smooth, or slightly p.u.b.escent (at least when young) beneath; ovate to lance-oblong, entire or somewhat toothed; apex pointed; base obtuse, rounded or sometimes acute; leaflet stalks short, smooth; stipules and stipels none.

=Inflorescence.=--May. In loose panicles from lateral or terminal buds of the previous season's shoots, sterile and fertile flowers for the most part on separate trees, numerous, inconspicuous; calyx in sterile flowers 4-toothed, petals none, stamens 2-4, anthers oblong; calyx in fertile flowers unequally 4-toothed or nearly entire, persistent; petals none, stamens none, pistil 1, style 1, stigma 2-cleft.

=Fruit.=--Ripening in early fall, and hanging in cl.u.s.ters into the winter; a samara or key 1-2 inches long, body nearly terete, marginless below, dilating from near the tip into a wing two or three times as long as the body.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; prefers a rich, moist, loamy soil, but grows in any well-drained situation; easily transplanted, usually obtainable in nurseries, and can be collected successfully. It is one of the most desirable native trees for landscape and street plantations, on account of its rapid and clean growth, freedom from disease, moderate shade, and richly colored autumn foliage.

As the leaves appear late in spring and fall early in autumn, it is desirable to plant with other trees of different habit. Propagated from seed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE Lx.x.xIII.--Fraxinus Americana.]

1. Winter buds.

2. Branch with sterile flowers.

3. Sterile flowers.

4. Branch with fertile flowers.

5. Fertile flower.

6. Fruiting branch.

=Fraxinus Pennsylvanica, Marsh.=

_Fraxinus p.u.b.escens, Lam._

RED ASH. BROWN ASH. RIVER ASH.

=Habitat and Range.=--River banks, swampy lowlands, margins of streams and ponds.

New Brunswick to Manitoba.

Maine,--infrequent; New Hampshire,--occasional, extending as far north as Boscawen in the Merrimac valley; Vermont,--common along Lake Champlain and its tributaries (_Flora of Vermont_, 1900); occasional in other sections; Ma.s.sachusetts and Rhode Island,--sparingly scattered throughout; Connecticut,--reported from East Hartford, Westville, Canaan, and Lisbon (J. N. Bishop).

South to Florida and Alabama; west to Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri.

=Habit.=--Medium-sized to large tree, 30-70 feet high, with trunk 1-3 feet in diameter; erect, branches spreading, broad-headed; in general appearance resembling the white ash.

=Bark.=--Trunk dark gray or brown, smooth in young trees, furrowed in old, furrows rather shallower than in the white ash; branches grayish; young shoots greenish-gray with a rusty-velvety or scurfy p.u.b.escence lasting often into the second year.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds rounded, dark reddish-brown, more or less downy, smaller than those of the white ash, partially covered by the swollen petiole. Leaves pinnately compound, opposite, 9-15 inches long; petiole short, downy, enlarged at base; leaflets 7-9, opposite, 3-5 inches long, about one half as wide, light green and smooth above, paler and more or less downy beneath; outline extremely variable, ovate, narrow-oblong, elliptical or sometimes obovate, entire or slightly toothed; apex acute to ac.u.minate; base acute or rounded; leaflet stalks short, grooved, downy; stipules and stipels none.

=Inflorescence.=--May. Similar to that of the white ash.

=Fruit.=--Ripening in early fall, and hanging in cl.u.s.ters into the winter; samara or key about 1-1/2 inches long; body of the fruit narrowly cylindrical, the edges gradually widening from about the center into linear or spatulate wings, obtuse or rounded at the ends, sometimes mucronate.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows readily in any good soil, but prefers a wet or moist, rich loam; almost as rapid growing when young as the white ash, and is not seriously affected by insects or fungous diseases; worthy of a place in landscape plantations and on streets, but not often found in nurseries; propagated from seed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE Lx.x.xIV.--Fraxinus Pennsylvanica.]

1. Winter buds.

2. Branch with sterile flowers.

3. Sterile flowers.

4. Branch with fertile flowers.

5. Fertile flower.

6. Fruiting branch.

7. Mature leaf.

=Fraxinus Pennsylvanica, var. lanceolata, Sarg.=