White Ash (Fraxinus americana)

The answer to today's Name that Seed is the White Ash! The White Ash is a dioecious deciduous shade tree that grows to nearly 80 feet tall. Dioecious means that individual trees (or plants) are either male or female and not both, very similar to hollies. Last week I featured the Persimmon in a Name that Seed post which is another dioecious tree.

The flowers remain somewhat inconspicuous due to their lack of petals. The wind plays an important role in the reproduction process for ash trees. Pollination occurs in the spring via the wind and in the fall the samaras rely on the wind for transport. (Samaras are the winged seeds produced by many plants like ash and maples). The samaras are capable of traveling great distances on the wind to germinate new trees wherever they land.

Fun Facts from the Field Guide:

• If you like baseball you should appreciate the Ash as its wood is well suited for making baseball bats!
• It has also been used to make hockey sticks.
• There is a variation of the White Ash called the Biltmore Ash which has hairs that cover the twigs, leaf stalks and on the undersides of leaves.

The two photographs of the trees are in the public domain and a courtesy of:
"Fraxinus americana." Wikimedia Commons, . 30 Nov 2008, 13:56 UTC. 14 Dec 2008, 13:51