=3. Fraxinus lanceolàta= Borckhausen. White Ash. Green Ash. Swamp Ash.
Plate 126. Medium to large sized trees with fissured bark, the ridges
and furrows narrower than those of the white ash; twigs slender and
glabrous at maturity; leaves generally 2-3 dm. long, rachis smooth,
rarely slightly pubescent; leaflets 5-9, usually 7, generally 5-15 cm.
long, on stalks generally about 0.5 cm. or less in length, the terminal
one on a stalk 2-4 times as long, leaflets generally narrow-oblong or
ovate to narrow ovate-oblong, generally with a narrowed base, sometimes
rounded and oblique, short or long acuminate at apex, margin entire near
the base, the remainder of the margin generally sparsely serrate with
short teeth, dark green and smooth above, a lighter green beneath and
more or less pubescent on the petiolules, midrib and veins; calyx
persistent, about 1 mm. long; fruit ripens in September and October,
linear or spatulate, 3-5 cm. long, variable in size and shape, body
1/3-1/2 the length of samara, compressed or flattened and gradually
narrowed to the base, usually less than half as wide as the wing, each
face of the body usually striated with about 2-4 lines which are
stronger than those near the edge of the body; wing generally 5-6 mm.
wide, pointed or notched at apex, and decurrent on the sides of the body
for about one-half of its length.
=Distribution.=--Lake Champlain to the Saskatchewan and south to the
Gulf. Found in all parts of Indiana. It is usually found in low ground
along streams, in swamps, and in low woods. It is usually associated
with white elm, red maple, cottonwood, aspens, linn, bur oak, etc., in
the south to this list should be added silver maple and cypress. It
prefers a habitat wetter than that of the white ash, although the two
are found together in wet woods. In swampy woods it is often a common
tree. While it has a general distribution in the State, it is much more
local than the white ash.
=Remarks.=--This form is not usually separated from the next species,
and both are known in books and by nurserymen as green or red ash. The
common name, green ash, should be applied to this species to separate it
from the true white ash, and the next.
In ash forest plantings on the Clark County State Forest, it is to be
noted that this and the next species bear fruit while the trees are as
small as 1.5 cm. in diameter, while the white and Biltmore ash which are
much older and 6-8 cm. in diameter have never borne fruit. This species
and the next bear fruit oftener and in greater abundance than the white
or Biltmore ash. It is also to be noted that practically all of the
volunteer ash trees found along fences and roadsides, except very large
trees, are of the green ash species.
The wood is similar to that of white ash, and the cut is usually sold as
that species. However, it ranks below white ash in its mechanical
qualities.[71]
While the native green ash is found growing in swamps, it adapts itself
to drier situations. It is planted more than any other species of ash in
the cold and dry regions of the West and Northwest.
[Illustration: Plate 127.