Short Description
The ash is deciduous and can grow up to 40 m tall.
The leaves grow alternately on the branch. They consist of 9-15 leaflets (pinnate). These leaflets are pointed, lance-shaped to oval with finely serrated margins.
The bark is grey. With age, it becomes vertically fissured.
The flowers are arranged in inconspicuous panicles.
The green to yellow-brown nut fruits are long, flat and winged. They are clustered in tightly bunched seed heads, often referred to as “ash keys”.
Features
Common ash
Fraxinus excelsior
very large pinnate leaves
flat, long winged fruits
In the city
The ash is a comparatively common road and park tree. It can cope equally well with wet sites as with drought conditions. It has good properties for intercepting fine airborne particles, but is sensitive to emissions and soil compaction. All of these properties make them a useful tree for planting in towns and with some limitations also along roads.
Fun Facts
In Northern mythology, humans descend from an ash tree (“Yggdrasil”).
Ash wood is of a very high quality and can meet the most stringent requirements in terms of strength and flexibility, e.g. in the production of tools and sporting equipment.
It flowers from March to May.
The fruit ripening season is from July to October.
- Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
In Antiquity, various parts of the ash (bark, leaves, oil) were used for heating purposes.
Sources
Blatt, Sten Porse, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fraxinus-excelsior-male-leaves.JPG
Habitus, Willow, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fraxinus_excelsior_001.jpg
Fruchtstand, Pleple2000, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fraxinus_excelsior_4560.jpg
Aas, G. & Riedmiller, A. (2002) Laubbäume. Bestimmen – Kennenlernen – Schützen, Bindlach: Gondrom Verlag.
Amann, G. & Richter, P. (1962) Bäume und Sträucher des Waldes, Melsungen: Verlag J. Neumann – Neudamm.
Forum DIE GRÜNE STADT (2013) Bäume und Pflanzen lassen Städte atmen. Schwerpunkt - Feinstaub, URL: https://www.die-gruene-stadt.de/baeume-und-pflanzen-lassen-staedte-atmen.pdfx (Accessed: 02.08.2018).
Quartier, A. (1989) Bäume und Sträucher, München: BLV.
Roloff, A. (2013) Bäume in der Stadt. Besonderheiten - Funktion - Nutzen - Arten - Risiken, Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.
Page „Gemeine Esche“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 20.06.2016, 08:42 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gemeine_Esche&oldid=155465888 (Accessed: 30.06.2016).