Plant Profile: Flowering Ash (Fraxinus ornus)

Native to southern Europe and Asia Minor, this deciduous tree is also called manna ash and is a member of the olive family, Oleaceae, that also includes privet, forsythia, and lilac.  It grows up to 50′ tall and has a short trunk with smooth, dark gray bark and dark green pinnately compound leaves 5-8″ long with 5-9  leaflets that are  ovate to oblong, finely serrated, and 2-3″ long.  Terminal and axillary panicles of creamy white, fragrant flowers appear with or after the leaves.  The panicles are up to 5″ long and give ways to clusters of 2″ long  unattractive winged seed pods called samaras that ripen in the fall and may persist into the winter.  The trees are valued for their spring bloom, shade, and were used as ornamental trees until the emerald ash borer became a problem.  Fall color ranges from dull yellow to red-purple and is not considered an asset.  The sap from the tree has been used medicinally and as a sweetener and anti-caking agent. The genus name, Fraxinus, is the classical Latin name for the plant.  The specific epithet, ornus, is of unknown origin and meaning but may be derived from an old word for ashes.