British Native Trees
and Shrubs

Ash Fraxinus excelsior (Oleaceae)

Welcome pale Primrose! Starting up between
Dead matted leaves of ash and oak that strew
The sunny lawn, the wood, the coppice through
‘Mid creeping moss and ivy’s darker green;
How much thy presence beautifies the ground!

 

Dense, short-stalked clusters of petal-less flowers suffuse the mature ash with a purple hue well before its feather-like leaves fully open in May. It is a member of the olive family and the last native tree to come into leaf, and throughout winter can be recognized by its knobbly greenish-grey twigs and its large, coal-black buds in opposite pairs. Smaller branches tend to droop down and curve upwards at the tip. Growing up to 37 m in ideal conditions, but more usually 25 m, it has a rounded crown and well spaced branches. 

The smooth, pale-grey bark becomes ridged and fissured with age, and the long, up to 30 cm, pinnate leaves, have three to six pairs of oval or lance-shaped, toothed leaflets with a single leaf at the tip and they often turn yellow before its early leaf-fall in October. Hanging, tassel-like, purplish-green flowers appear on the bare twigs in April. 

The tree as well as the individual flower clusters and even the separate flowers can be male, female or hermaphrodite. 

The tree can change sex from year to year. Ash’s distinctive clusters of flattened fruits with long, tongue-like wings, known as ‘keys’, can remain on the tree throughout winter.

Ash is commonly found in woods, scrub and hedgerows, particularly on damp, alkaline soils, throughout England.

This tree is suited to the large garden where its late foliage and open canopy enables underplanting with spring flowers and other species tolerant of semi-shade. It likes moist, well-drained soils, preferably alkaline, although it will grow in mildly acid ground. Ash grows back quickly after cutting and responds well to pollarding or coppicing. It is hardy enough to withstand pollution in towns and sea-winds on the coast. It can easily be propagated from the seeds if they are gathered when still green in early autumn and sown in a nursery bed or cold frame. Green seeds should germinate straight away, but ripe seeds may take 18 months to germinate and these need stratifying by mixing with damp sand and keeping in a cold frame until their second spring. Transplant after a year or two and grow on for another two years before setting out in a permanent site.

Creamy-coloured ash timber is tough, pliable and versatile, used to make shock-proof and durable handles for such tools as hammers and axes and for sports equipment such as billiard cues, hockey sticks, oars and skis. It also makes attractive furniture and ornaments.

Ash is a hospitable tree, supporting 41 species of insects, and its fruits are an important source of food for bullfinches.

Page last updated - December 28, 2001  

©2001-2002 Flora for Fauna