Fraxinus pennsylvanica
(downy ash)

Pictures

Picture	Title	Caption	Copyright
Title Habit Caption Fraxinus pennsylvanica (downy ash); habit. USA. Copyright ©Robert Vidéki/Doronicum Kft./Bugwood.org - CC BY-NC 3.0 US	Habit	Fraxinus pennsylvanica (downy ash); habit. USA.	©Robert Vidéki/Doronicum Kft./Bugwood.org - CC BY-NC 3.0 US
Title Habit Caption Fraxinus pennsylvanica (downy ash); habit. USA. Copyright ©Robert Vidéki/Doronicum Kft./Bugwood.org - CC BY-NC 3.0 US	Habit	Fraxinus pennsylvanica (downy ash); habit. USA.	©Robert Vidéki/Doronicum Kft./Bugwood.org - CC BY-NC 3.0 US
Title Habit Caption Fraxinus pennsylvanica (downy ash); habit. Downy (or green) ash is a species of riparian or low seep areas. Alzada, Montana, USA. September 2009. Copyright ©Prof Matt Lavin-2016/Bozeman, Montana, USA - CC BY-SA 2.0	Habit	Fraxinus pennsylvanica (downy ash); habit. Downy (or green) ash is a species of riparian or low seep areas. Alzada, Montana, USA. September 2009.	©Prof Matt Lavin-2016/Bozeman, Montana, USA - CC BY-SA 2.0
Title Habit Caption Fraxinus pennsylvanica (downy ash); habit. Downy (or green) ash is a species of riparian or low seep areas. Alzada, Montana, USA. September 2009. Copyright ©Prof Matt Lavin-2016/Bozeman, Montana, USA - CC BY-SA 2.0	Habit	Fraxinus pennsylvanica (downy ash); habit. Downy (or green) ash is a species of riparian or low seep areas. Alzada, Montana, USA. September 2009.	©Prof Matt Lavin-2016/Bozeman, Montana, USA - CC BY-SA 2.0
Title Fresh leaf Caption Fraxinus pennsylvanica (downy ash); fresh leaf. (Note scale, in inches). USA. Copyright ©Keith Kanoti/Maine Forest Service/Bugwood.org - CC BY 3.0 US	Fresh leaf	Fraxinus pennsylvanica (downy ash); fresh leaf. (Note scale, in inches). USA.	©Keith Kanoti/Maine Forest Service/Bugwood.org - CC BY 3.0 US
Title Bark Caption Fraxinus pennsylvanica (downy ash); habit, showing bark and trunk. nr Nebraska City, USA. May 2009. Copyright Public Domain - Released by MONGO/via wikipedia - CC 0	Bark	Fraxinus pennsylvanica (downy ash); habit, showing bark and trunk. nr Nebraska City, USA. May 2009.	Public Domain - Released by MONGO/via wikipedia - CC 0

Identity

Preferred Scientific Name

• Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marshall

Preferred Common Name

• downy ash

Other Scientific Names

• Fraxinus lanceolata Borkh.
• Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. lanceolata (Borkh.) Sarg.
• Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. subintegerrima (Vahl) Fernald
• Fraxinus pubescens Lam.
• Fraxinus viridis F. Michx.

International Common Names

• English: green ash; red ash; swamp ash; water ash
• French: frêne rouge d'Amérique

Local Common Names

• Germany: Esche, Amerikanische Grün-; Esche, Amerikanische Rot-; Esche, Grün-
• Italy: frassino di Pensilvania
• Netherlands: amerikaanse roode es
• Sweden: rödask

EPPO code

• FRXPE (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)
• FRXPS (Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. subintegerrima)

Summary of Invasiveness

The following summary is from Witt and Luke (2017):

Description

Medium-sized tree [12–25 (–45) m tall] with a trunk to 60 cm in diameter; deciduous (sheds most or all of its leaves at the end of the growing season), crown irregular to round, twigs grey to green-brown; root system shallow, wide and spreading.

Origin

USA.

Reason for Introduction

Fuelwood, timber and ornament.

Invades

Various habitats, including floodplain woodlands, mesic woodlands, riverbanks, swamps and abandoned fields.

Impacts

F. pennsylvanica was in 1948 planted as a fire break around commercial forestry plantations in the Mau Forest, Kenya. Seedlings, saplings and mature trees are now found in areas outside of these original plantings. In invaded areas, F. pennsylvanica, according to reports, “appears to affect community diversity, reducing species richness and abundance among the seedlings and saplings of trees of other species”.

Taxonomic Tree

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Oleales
•                         Family: Oleaceae
•                             Genus: Fraxinus
•                                 Species: Fraxinus pennsylvanica

Distribution Table

The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

Air Temperature

Rainfall

Rainfall Regime

Soil Tolerances

Soil drainage

• free
• impeded
• seasonally waterlogged

Soil reaction

• acid
• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• heavy
• light
• medium

Uses List

Environmental

• Agroforestry
• Revegetation
• Shade and shelter

General

• Ornamental

Materials

• Carved material
• Wood/timber

Wood Products

Woodware

• Industrial and domestic woodware
• Sports equipment
• Tool handles

References

Burns RM, Honkala BH, 1990. Silvics of North America: 2. Hardwoods. Agriculture Handbook 654. Washington DC, USA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Also available on the Internet (individual authors noted) at: < target="_blank">http://willow.ncfes.umn.edu/fth_pub.htm>

Kennedy HE Jr, 1990. Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh., Green ash. In: Burns RM, Honkala BH, tech. coords. Silvics of North America: 2. Hardwoods. USDA Agriculture Handbook, No. 654. Washington DC, USA: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service

Poland TM, McCullough DG, 2006. Emerald ash borer: invasion of the urban forest and the threat to North America's ash resource. Journal of Forestry, 104(3):118-124. http://www.ingenta.com/journals/browse/saf/jof

Witt, A., Luke, Q., 2017. Guide to the naturalized and invasive plants of Eastern Africa, [ed. by Witt, A., Luke, Q.]. Wallingford, UK: CABI.vi + 601 pp. http://www.cabi.org/cabebooks/ebook/20173158959 doi:10.1079/9781786392145.0000

Distribution References

CABI Data Mining, Undated. CAB Abstracts Data Mining.,

CABI, Undated. CABI Compendium: Status as determined by CABI editor. Wallingford, UK: CABI

Witt A, Luke Q, 2017. Guide to the naturalized and invasive plants of Eastern Africa. [ed. by Witt A, Luke Q]. Wallingford, UK: CABI. vi + 601 pp. http://www.cabi.org/cabebooks/ebook/20173158959 DOI:10.1079/9781786392145.0000

Distribution Maps