Fraxinus americana
| Fraxinus americana | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 82' |
| Width: | 49' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Fraxinus americana (common name: white ash)
Propagation: The seed is best harvested green - as soon as it is fully developed but before it has fully dried on the tree - and can then be sown immediately in a cold frame[1]. It usually germinates in the spring[1]. Stored seed requires a period of cold stratification and is best sown as soon as possible in a cold frame[2]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions or a nursery bed in late spring or early summer of the following year.
If you have sufficient seed then it is possible to sow it directly into an outdoor seedbed, preferably in the autumn. Grow the seedlings on in the seedbed for 2 years before transplanting either to their permanent positions or to nursery beds.
Cultivation: Prefers a deep loamy soil, even if it is on the heavy side[3][2]. Most members of this genus are gross feeders and require a rich soil[2]. Succeeds in exposed positions[2] and in alkaline soils[4]. Tolerates atmospheric pollution[2]. Young plants tolerate forest shade[5].
One of the most valuable hardwood timber trees in N. America[5], saplings grow slowly at first, but the growth rate speeds up over the next 50 years[6]. This species is planted on a small scale, mainly in E. Europe, as a timber tree[7]. It has the potential as a forestry tree in Britain, succeeding under conditions that are too dry or frosty for the native ash, F. excelsior[4].
A very ornamental tree[3], it is often confused in cultivation with F. pennsylvanica[7].
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. Male trees usually flower heavily each year, but female trees only flower heavily every 2 - 3 years[6].
Range: Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Nebraska and Texas.
Habitat: Rich upland to lowland woods[8][9]. Usually found in association with other hardwood trees in well-drained soils on slopes[10].
Edibility: A bitter tasting syrup is drawn from the tree[5]. The report gives no more details and does not directly say that the syrup was used as food. It was quite possibly only used medicinally[K].
Medicinal: The bark is astringent, emmenagogue and a bitter tonic[11][12][13][14]. An infusion is used to promote menstruation[14]. It has also been used as a wash to treat skin sores, itches and vermin on the scalp[15][14].
The inner bark is diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic and strongly laxative[16]. It is used as a tea to remove bile from the intestines, as a tonic after childbirth and to relieve stomach cramps and fevers[16][14]. It is chewed and applied as a poultice to sores[16].
The leaves are used to soothe the itching caused by mosquito bites and bee stings[6].
The seeds are thought to be aphrodisiac[16].
Usage: The leaves are said to repel rattlesnakes and have been worn on the feet of people travelling in rattlesnake country[15]. There are some doubts over the efficacy of this[15].
A yellow dye is obtained from the bark[5].
Wood - strong, hard, heavy, tough, elastic, close grained, moderately durable[11][9][10]. It weighs 41lb per cubic foot, seasons well, takes a good polish and is shock resistant[10]. One of the most valuable of the North American timbers[9][5], it is much used for tool handles, hockey sticks, baseball bats, the interior of buildings, musical instruments, furniture, woodenware etc[11][9][10][17]. As a fuel it is comparable in quality to such excellent species as oak (Quercus spp) and hickory (Carya spp)[5].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Wind: Tolerates strong winds
Pollution: Tolerates environmental pollution.
Seed Ripens: Early Fall
Flower Type: Dioecious
Also Known As: F. acuminata. F. alba. F. juglandifolia.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 McMillan-Browse, Philip. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books, 1985.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Lauriault, Jean. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada. Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1989.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Vines, Robert. Trees of North Texas. University of Texas Press, 1982.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.