American Ash (Fraxinus spp./Oleaceae)

Description

botanical illustration of an American ash branch with seeds.

The genus Fraxinus (Ashes) contains from 40 to 70 species that grow in the north temperate regions of Central and North America and Eurasia. All species look alike at the cellular level. Ash trees can attain heights of 80 feet with straight trunks. Ash sapwood is light brown and the heartwood is a dark brown. The wood has a straight grain and is strong, hard, stiff and heavy. It has high shock resistance (baseball bats) and varies in other properties. Ash is used for baseball bats, boxes and crates, flooring, hand tools, handle stock, millwork, sporting goods, and un-upholstered furniture.

Tech Sheet

https://research.fs.usda.gov/silvics/white-ash

Characteristics

Characteristics found in the Ash (Fraxinus spp.):

  • Ring Porous
  • Coalesced/Confluent parenchyma
    • Vasicentric (surrounding the vessels) Parenchyma in the latewood
    • Confluent Parenchyma (connecting vessels) towards the very end of the growth ring
  • Simple perforations
  • I/V pits minute (2-3)
  • Rays 1-4 seriate & homocellular

Slides (Click on each image to view a larger image)

WOOD SLIDES

microscope slide of transverse section of ashwood. Arrows identify the large earlywood vessel a growth ring boundary, parenchyma, and the latewood vessels.

Cross-section of Ash (Fraxinus sp.) showing the growth ring boundary, earlywood vessels, latewood vessels, fibers and confluent parenchyma connecting latewood pores).
Microscope slide of transverse section of ash wood. Arrows identify earlywood latewood parenchyma and the growth ring boundary..

Cross-section of Ash (Fraxinus sp.) showing confluent parenchyma connecting latewood pores (arrowheads).
Microscope slide of radial section of ash wood. Arrows identify the vessels and rays.
Microscope slide of radial section of ash wood at greater magnification. Arrows point to the rays and vessels.
Microscope slide of radio section of ash wood at greater magnification. Arrows identify the Homer cellular type rays.
Microscope slide of tangential section of ash wood. Arrows point to the vessels the rays and inner vessel pitting.
Microscope slide of tangential section of ash wood under greater magnification. Arrows show the inner vessel pitting and adjacent rays.
Microscope slide of tangential section of ash wood. Arrows point to scattered rays.
Microscope slide of tangential section of ash wood at greater magnification. Arrows point to the rays and vasicentric parenchyma.
Microscope slide of tangential section of ash wood at greater magnification. Arrows point to the vasicentric parenchyma, rays, and the inner vessel pitting in the ray vessel.

CHARCOAL SLIDES

Microscope slide of the radial section of ash charcoal. Arrows identify the vessels and the rays.
Microscope slide of the radial section of ash charcoal under greater magnification. Arrows point to the rays and the vessel.
Microscope slide of radial section of ash charcoal. Arrows identify the rays.
Microscope slide of tangential surface of ash charcoal. Arrows identify location of the vessels.
Microscope slide of tangential section of ash charcoal. Arrows identify the rays and hollow voids that are artifacts of pyrolysis.
Microscope slide of tangential section of ash charcoal under greater magnification. Arrows identify the vessels and rays.
Magnified image of ash charcoal. Arrows point to the growth ring boundaries.