Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marshal is the scientific name for green ash. The genus name, Fraxinus, is the classical Latin name for ashes and the species name refers to the state where specimens used in naming were collected by botanists. Ashes are members of the Oleaceae, commonly called the olive family and are often found in stream and river bottomlands. It has opposite, compound leaves, and flowers with no petals (see photographs above) that mature into winged fruits, called samaras, dispersed by wind and water (see photograph below).
Green ash is important in bottomland ecosystems where the fruits are consumed by many species of birds and small mammals. Green ash is the most wide ranging ash in Texas. Closely related to the green ash is the Texas ash, F. texensis (A. Gray) Sarg. It is found on limestone slopes and is endemic to Texas and southern Oklahoma. Its compound leaves typically have leaflets with shorter stalks and are lighter in color on the underside. Its bark has been used to obtain a pale yellow dye and it is possible that green ash could be used to obtain a similar dye. As a child I played with green ash fruits, which twirl like helicopter blades as they descend after being thrown upward.
Sources:
Diggs, G. M., B. L. Lipscomb, and R. J. O’Kennon. 1999. Shinners & Mahler’s Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute of Texas. Fort Worth, Texas.
Simpson, B. 1988. A Field Guide to Texas Trees. Gulf Publishing Company. Houston, Texas.
Tull, D. 2013. Edible and useful plants of the southwest: TX, NM and AZ. University of Texas Press. Austin, Texas.
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