Fraxinus

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Wikipedia

Fraxinus
Fraxinus ornus
1862 illustration[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Oleaceae
Tribe: Oleeae
Subtribe: Fraxininae
Genus: Fraxinus
L.[2]
Synonyms[3]

Fraxinus (/ˈfræksɪnəs/), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae,[4] and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous (dropping their leaves in autumn), although some subtropical species are evergreen. The genus is widespread throughout much of Europe, Asia, and North America.[3][5][6][7]

The leaves are usually opposite, and mostly pinnately compound (divided into leaflets in a feather-like arrangement). The seeds, known as "keys", are botanically fruits of the type called samara. Some species are dioecious, having male and female flowers on separate plants.

Ash wood is strong and elastic, and used for the handles of tools. Musical instrument makers use it for electric guitars and for drum shells. The Morgan Motor Company makes the frames of sports cars from ash wood. In Greek mythology, the Meliae were the nymphs of ash trees.

Etymology

The tree's common English name, "ash", derives from the Old English æsc, from the Proto-Indo-European name for the tree, while the name of the genus originated in Latin frāxinus, from a Proto-Indo-European word for birch. Both words also meant "spear", as ash wood was used for shafts.[8]

Description

The leaves of ash trees are usually opposite (rarely in whorls), and mostly pinnate. The seeds, known as "keys", are botanically single-winged fruits of the type called samara. Most Fraxinus species are dioecious, having male and female flowers on separate plants. The male flowers have two stamens. If a calyx is present, it has four lobes; if there is a corolla, it has four lobes or four petals, which are white or pale yellow.[9]

Evolution

Fossil history

The oldest fossils that are clearly Fraxinus are from the Middle Eocene (49–39 million years ago) of southeast North America, including the extinct species F. wilcoxiana.[10][11] Fossil pollen of F. angustifolia is known from the Upper Miocene (12 million years ago) of Europe.[10] F. oishii winged fruits have been found in the Middle Miocene of Korea.[12]

Taxonomy

Fraxinus ornus

The genus Fraxinus was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The name remains accepted by taxonomists.[13] Multiple authors have described other tree genera that are synonymous with Fraxinus: Ornus by the German botanist and physician Georg Rudolf Boehmer in 1760; Fraxinoides by the German physician Friedrich Kasimir Medikus in 1791; Mannaphorus by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1818; Calycomelia by the Czech Vincenz Franz Kosteletzky [de] in 1834; Leptalix, Ornanthes, Samarpsea (misspelt) and Samarpses, Apilia and Aplilia by Rafinesque, all in 1838; Meliopsis by the German botanist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1841; and Petlomelia by the Belgian priest Julius Nieuwland in 1914.[13]

External phylogeny

The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group has classified Fraxinus as part of the Oleaceae (the olive family of flowering woody plants), within the order Lamiales (the mint order, including many aromatic herbs).[14][15]

Lamiales

Internal phylogeny

Species are arranged into sections identified by phylogenetic analysis of clades within the Fraxinus genus:[16][10]

Fraxinus

section Dipetalae

section Melioides

section Pauciflorae

section Ornus

section Fraxinus

section Sciadanthus

Section Dipetalae
Section Fraxinus
Section Melioides sensu lato
Section Melioides sensu stricto
Section Ornus
Section Pauciflorae
Section Sciadanthus

Ecology and distribution

The genus Fraxinus is widespread throughout much of Europe, Asia, and North America.[3] The genus is primarily temperate or subtropical; 22 of the species occur in China,[19] while for example Italy has 4 species.[20] Both native and introduced Fraxinus species occur in almost every contiguous state of the United States and all the southern provinces of Canada.[21]

Ash species provide habitat and food for the larvae of many insects including long-horn beetles, plant bugs, lace bugs, aphids, and caterpillars, as well as birds and mammals.[22][23][24][25]

The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), 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[26] and neighbouring Ontario and Quebec in Canada. It threatens some seven billion ash trees in North America. Three native Asian wasp species, natural predators of the beetle, have been evaluated as possible biological controls. The public was cautioned to avoid transporting unfinished wood products, such as firewood, to slow the spread of the pest.[27] Damage occurs when emerald ash borer larvae feed on the inner bark, phloem of ash trees, preventing nutrient and water transportation.[28][29]

The European ash, Fraxinus excelsior, has been affected by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, causing chalara ash dieback[30] in a large number of trees since the mid-1990s, particularly in eastern and northern Europe.[31][32] The disease has infected about 90% of Denmark's ash trees.[33] In 2012 in the UK, ash dieback was found in mature woodland.[34] The combination of emerald ash borer and ash dieback has threatened ash populations in Europe,[35] but trees in mixed landscapes appear to have some resistance to the disease.[36]

Uses

Ash is a hardwood and is dense, around 670 kg/m3 for Fraxinus americana, the white ash,[37] and 710 kg/m3 for Fraxinus excelsior, the European ash.[38] The wood of the European ash is strong and elastic, making it suitable for uses such as the handles of tools.[39] It is a good firewood.[39]

The Fender musical instrument company has used ash as a tonewood for its electric guitars since 1956.[40] Species used for guitar building include swamp ash.[41] Ash is in addition used for making drum shells. It has been described as resonant, providing a balanced tone for both high and low notes.[42] Ash wood can be used for furniture, agricultural tools, and household objects such as bowls, candlesticks, and spoons.[43] The Morgan Motor Company of Great Britain still manufactures sports cars with frames made from ash.[44]

The green ash (F. pennsylvanica) is widely planted as a street tree in the United States.[45] The inner bark of the blue ash (F. quadrangulata) has been used as a source for blue dye.[46] In Sicily, Italy, a sugary manna is obtained from the resinous sap of the manna ash, extracted by making cuts in the bark.[47] The young seedpods of the European ash, known as "keys", are edible; in Britain, they are traditionally pickled with vinegar, sugar and spices.[48] A range of pharmacologically active compounds exist in Fraxinus species, with for example anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, and antihyperglycaemic properties which might find practical applications.[49]

Mythology and folklore

In Greek mythology, the Meliae, their name meaning "ash trees", 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).[50] 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'.[51] In Slavic folklore, an ash stake could be used to kill a vampire.[52] In the Old English Latin alphabet, Æ was the letter æsc, "ash tree".[53] This transliterated the Anglo-Saxon futhorc rune ᚫ.[54]

The Welsh folk song Llwyn Onn, "The Ash Grove", sings in the English version by John Oxenford "The ash grove, how graceful, how plainly 'tis speaking; The lark through its branches is gazing on me".[55]

References

  1. ↑ Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen
  2. ↑ "Fraxinus L." Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 3 April 2006. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Fraxinus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  4. ↑ Western Garden Book (6th ed.). Sunset Books. 1995. pp. 606–07. ISBN 978-0-376-03850-0.
  5. ↑ "Fraxinus". Altervista Flora Italiana. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Fraxinus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1057. 1753". Flora of China. p. 273 – via 衿属 qin shu.
  7. ↑ "Genus Fraxinus". United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  8. ↑ Mallory, J. P.; Adams, Douglas Q., eds. (1997). Encyclopedia of Indo-European culture. Taylor & Francis. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-884964-98-5.
  9. ↑ "Fraxinus L." International Dendrology Society. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 Hinsinger, Damien Daniel; Basak, Jolly; Gaudeul, Myriam; Cruaud, Corinne; Bertolino, Paola; Frascaria-Lacoste, Nathalie; Bousquet, Jean (21 November 2013). "The Phylogeny and Biogeographic History of Ashes ( Fraxinus, Oleaceae) Highlight the Roles of Migration and Vicariance in the Diversification of Temperate Trees". PLOS One. 8 (11) e80431. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...880431H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0080431. PMC 3837005. PMID 24278282.
  11. ↑ Call, Victor B.; Dilcher, David L. (1992). "Investigations of angiosperms from the Eocene of southeastern North America: samaras of Fraxinus wilcoxiana Berry". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 74 (3–4): 249–266. doi:10.1016/0034-6667(92)90010-E. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  12. ↑ Jung, Seung‐Ho; Lee, Seong‐Joo (2009). "Fossil‐Winged Fruits of Fraxinus (Oleaceae) and Liriodendron (Magnoliaceae) from the Duho Formation, Pohang Basin, Korea". Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition. 83 (5): 845–852. doi:10.1111/j.1755-6724.2009.00113.x. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  13. 1 2 "Fraxinus Linnaeus, 1753". Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  14. ↑ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2016). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 181 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1111/boj.12385.
  15. ↑ Wallander, Eva; Albert, Victor A. (2000). "Phylogeny and classification of Oleaceae based on rps16 and trnL‐F sequence data". American Journal of Botany. 87 (12): 1827–1841. doi:10.2307/2656836. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  16. ↑ Wallander, Eva (2008). "Systematics of Fraxinus (Oleaceae) and evolution of dioecy" (PDF). Plant Systematics and Evolution. 273 (1–2): 25–49. Bibcode:2008PSyEv.273...25W. doi:10.1007/s00606-008-0005-3.
  17. ↑ "Species Records of Fraxinus". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  18. ↑ "Fraxinus L." ITIS Standard Reports. Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  19. ↑ "Fraxinus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1057. 1753". Flora of China. p. 273 – via 衿属 qin shu.
  20. ↑ "Fraxinus". Altervista Flora Italiana. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  21. ↑ "Genus Fraxinus". United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  22. ↑ "Black Ash". Illinois Wildflowers. Dr. John Hilty. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  23. ↑ "White Ash". Illinois Wildflowers. Dr. John Hilty. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  24. ↑ "Green Ash". Illinois Wildflowers. Dr. John Hilty. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  25. ↑ "Red Ash". Illinois Wildflowers. Dr. John Hilty. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  26. ↑ Moy, Derek. "About Emerald Ash Borer". Emerald Ash Borer Information Network.
  27. ↑ "The Problem". Don't Move Firewood. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  28. ↑ Emerald Ash Borer and Your Woodland (PDF) (Report). Extension Bulletin E-2943. Michigan State University Extension. September 2007.
  29. ↑ Ball, John (April 2018). How to Identify an Ash Tree Infested by Emerald Ash Borer (PDF) (Report). South Dakota State University Extension.
  30. ↑ Kowalski, T. (2006). "Chalara fraxinea sp. nov. associated with dieback of ash (Fraxinus excelsior) in Poland". Forest Pathology. 36 (4): 264–270. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0329.2006.00453.x.
  31. ↑ Halmschlager, E.; Kirisits, T. (2008). "First report of the ash dieback pathogen Chalara fraxinea on Fraxinus excelsior in Austria". New Disease Reports. 17: 20. Archived from the original on 29 September 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  32. ↑ Ogris, N.; Hauptman, T.; Jurc, D. (2009). "Chalara fraxinea causing common ash dieback newly reported in Slovenia". New Disease Reports. 19: 15. Archived from the original on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  33. ↑ "'Ash dieback' fungus Chalara fraxinea in UK countryside". BBC. 25 October 2012.
  34. ↑ BBC News 'Ash dieback' fungus, Chalara fraxinea found in UK countryside. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  35. ↑ Marshall, Claire (23 March 2016). "Ash tree set for extinction in Europe". BBC.
  36. ↑ Kinver, Mark (8 May 2020). "Some landscapes show resistance to ash dieback". BBC News.
  37. ↑ "White Ash". Niche Timbers. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  38. ↑ "Ash". Niche Timbers. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  39. 1 2 3 "Ash". Forestry and Land Scotland. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  40. ↑ "Ash vs. Alder: What's the Difference?".
  41. ↑ SWAMP ASH Lumber Guide: 8/4 Lightweight Guitar Wood 2020 15 December 2018 www.commercialforestproducts.com, accessed 27 September 2020
  42. ↑ "13 Different Drum Shell Wood Types". The Drum Ninja LLC. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  43. ↑ Bagshaw, Emily (4 March 2025). "Ash Rise celebrates the material intelligence and craft potential of Scotland's native ash tree". Material Source. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  44. ↑ "Let the Wood (and Aluminum) Times Roll: A Tour of Morgan Motor Company's Factory". 14 May 2012. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  45. ↑ "Green ash: Fraxinus pennsylvanica". Morton Arboretum. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  46. ↑ Oklahoma Biological Survey: Fraxinus quadrangulata Archived 2008-10-20 at the Wayback Machine
  47. ↑ "Traverso V. The return of Sicily's ancient 'white gold'". BBC News. 30 March 2025.
  48. ↑ "Foraging in June". Woodland Trust. 24 June 2021.
  49. ↑ Sarfraz, Iqra; Rasul, Azhar; Jabeen, Farhat; Younis, Tahira; Zahoor, Muhammad Kashif; Arshad, Muhammad; Ali, Muhammad (2017). "Fraxinus: A Plant with Versatile Pharmacological and Biological Activities". Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2017 (1). doi:10.1155/2017/4269868. PMC 5723943. PMID 29279716.
  50. ↑ Caldwell, Richard, Hesiod's Theogony, Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company (June 1, 1987). ISBN 978-0-941051-00-2. p. 38 n. 178–187: "The nymphs called Meliai are properly "ash-tree" nymphs; the Greek word for ash-trees is meliai also".
  51. ↑ Simek, Rudolf (2007). Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Translated by Angela Hall. D.S. Brewer. ISBN 978-0-85991-513-7.
  52. ↑ Del Lao, Nero (2013). Perpetuum Mobile: Il Segreto per non Morire. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-49313-8388.
  53. ↑ Harrison, James A.; Baskervill, W. M., eds. (1885). "æsc". A Handy Anglo-Saxon Dictionary: Based on Groschopp's Grein. A. S. Barnes. p. 11.
  54. ↑ Barnes, Michael (2012). Runes: A handbook. Woodbridge: Boydell. pp. 38–41.
  55. ↑ "The Ash Grove". Second Hand Songs. Retrieved 3 October 2025.