White Ash

LEAVES: Opposite, compound, about 10″ long, with 5-9 leaflets each 3″-5″ long, short- stalked, silvery beneath, margins entire or with a few rounded teeth toward the tip.

TWIGS: Stout, usually smooth, gray-brown with a few pale lenticels and a white, waxy coating which is easily rubbed off called a bloom. Buds rusty to dark brown, blunt with adjoining leaf scars half-circular and notched at the top. The first pair of lateral buds usually at the base of the end bud causing a terminal enlargement of the twig (compare with Black ash).

FRUIT: A winged seed, called a samara, usually 1 to 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide, shaped like a canoe paddle with a rounded tip and hanging in clusters which remain attached for several months after ripening in autumn.

BARK: Gray-brown, evenly furrowed into diamond shaped areas separated by narrow interlacing ridges, slightly scaly on very old trees.

GENERAL: A large tree, often up to 80 ft. or more usually with a long straight trunk commonly found on rich soils. The wood is used for sporting goods (especially baseball bats), handles, agricultural tools, and furniture. The juice from the leaf has been reported to relieve mosquito bite itching. Fall foliage colors range from brilliant yellow to dark maroon.