Fraxinus pennsylvanica
| Fraxinus pennsylvanica | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 66' |
| Width: | 66' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Fraxinus pennsylvanica (common name: red 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[4][2]. Plants succeed when growing in exposed positions[2] and also in alkaline soils[4]. They tolerate atmospheric pollution[2]. A fast-growing tree[5]. Plants have little tolerance of shade[6].
Cultivated as a timber tree in C. and S.E. Europe where it is sometimes naturalized[7]. The cultivar 'Patmore' is disease resistant[5].
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Range: Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Alberta, south to Florida and Texas.
Habitat: Streambanks, floodplains and wet upland sites[8], rarely in pure stands[6].
Edibility: Inner bark - cooked[9][10][11]. The cambium layer can be scraped down in long, fluffy layers and cooked[12]. It is said to taste like eggs[12]. Inner bark can also be dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickening in soups etc or mixed with cereals when making bread.
Medicinal: The bark and leaves are a bitter tonic[13][14]. An infusion of the inner bark has been used in the treatment of depression and fatigue[12].
The root is diuretic[13].
Usage: A fairly wind resistant tree, it can be grown as part of a shelterbelt planting[2].
A red dye is extracted from the bark[6].
Logs of wood can be beaten with mauls to separate the growth layers, these layers can then be cut into strips and woven into baskets[12].
Wood - hard, heavy, rather strong, tough, elastic, brittle, coarse-grained. It weighs 44lb per cubic foot. Used for tool handles, furniture etc[14][15][16][17][18]. The wood is of poorer quality than F. americana, though it is usually sold under that name[6].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Wind: Tolerates strong winds
Pollution: Tolerates environmental pollution.
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Dioecious
Also Known As: F. lanceolata. F. pubescens.
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 2.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 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 Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Lauriault, Jean. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada. Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1989.
- ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
- ↑ Vines, Robert. Trees of Central Texas. University of Texas Press, 1987.
- ↑ Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.