Ash - Fraxinus excelsior

• Add to Pick List
• Back to search results

Ash - Fraxinus excelsior
© Dr Chris Gibson/English Nature

The large, vigorous ash tree is deciduous and thrives best on moist, base-rich soils. It is fast growing and long-lived. Older ash trees are recognisable by their downward curving twigs and branches. The foliage is a distinctive arrangement of pinnate, oval leaves. The twigs are a smooth grey-green, with fat black buds in winter and spring. The purplish flowers appear before the leaves. The tree is wind-pollinated in April and May. The winged seeds or 'ash keys' are borne in clusters in summer and autumn. It is a big tree which needs the space of a large garden.

The common ash and the wild privet are the only two representatives in England of the olive family Oleaceae.

Animals

Bullfinch, Lesser stag beetle, Privet hawk-moth, Rook

Foliage	Green
Flower	Purple, April to May
Moisture	(Average)
Sunlight	(Full sun to Part-shade)
Origin	Native