 |
| Our tree of the week is the arboretum's lone green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica). It's the big tree, all by itself, pictured center. In 1998, this specimen was collected from the Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park in Caddo Parish. It was planted the same year. |
 |
| Our green ash is located outside of the arboretum proper, between the Student Union Building and the Hargrove Memorial Amphitheater. |
 |
| This ash tree grows on a grassy slope without competition for sunlight. Its solitary existence has allowed it to develop vertically and laterally unhindered, giving us an opportunity to appreciate its form. What we have today is a thoroughly upright individual, with a single straight trunk and an oval head. |
 |
| Looking at the trunk, we see that its lower branches have been removed, but the remaining branches droop enough to allow for up-close leaf-inspection. A bed of pine straw around the base of the trunk reduces weeds growing among the numerous surface roots. |
 |
| Surface roots growing in an otherwise flawless lawn are a headache for those tasked with mowing the grass. |
 |
| The bark is gray, rough, and furrowed. The narrow ridges interlace in some places, creating a diamond pattern. |
 |
| This species is known as a dependable shade tree. |
 |
| All of that much desired shade is made possible by these large, dark-green, glossy, pinnately-compound leaves. The leaf pictured above has seven leaflets and measures 10 inches in length. Leaflet shape varies. On this leaf, we see ovate and lanceolate shaped leaflets, with acuminate tips and wavy margins. |
 |
| Leaflet length varies, too. |
 |
| Underneath, leaves are pale-green and smooth. |
 |
| Overall leaf-length and number of leaflets varies as well. Here we have a leaf that measures a foot in length with only five leaflets. |
You can find more images of this individual here. Be sure to compare the older photo of the bark with the current photo.
For more information about this species please consult the following online sources:
United States Department of Agriculture
Louisiana Plant Identification and Interactive Virtual Tours (LSU AgCenter)
University of Florida IFAS Extension
