Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)
Family :
Zone: 2 - 5
Zone: 2 - 5
One of the most popular shade trees found throughout North America, being most common in the Midwest. It is a medium sized tree reaching a height of 30 – 50 ft at maturity. Compound leaves are arranged opposite on the stem with 7 to 9 leaflets. Ash trees are dioecious with male and female flowers on separate trees. The wood is very strong and dense and is favored for making baseball bats, hammer handles and other items requiring splinter resistant wood. All species of ash trees are currently suffering attack by the emerald ash borer that was first discovered in Minnesota in 2009. This exotic insect has killed millions of native ash trees, once the most common boulevard tree after the American Elm. The small larvae of the emerald ash borer girdles the trunk of the tree, working under the bark and eventually robbing the tree of its ability to conduct nutrients and water.