Ash
a genus of deciduous trees belonging to the natural order oleaceæ, having imperfe flowers and a seed vessel prolonged into a thin wing at the apex (called a samara). There are a good many species, chiefly indigenous to Europe and North America. The common ash (F. excelsior), indigenous to Great Britain, has a smooth bark, and grows tall and rather slender. The flowers are produced in loose spikes from the sides of the branches, and are succeeded by flat seeds which ripen in autumn. It is one of the most useful of British trees on account of the excellence of its hard, tough wood and the rapidity of its growth. There are many varieties of it, as the weeping ash, the curled-leaved ash, the entire-leaved ash, etc. The flowering or manna ash (F. ornus), by some placed in a distinct genus (ornus), is a native of the S. of Europe and Palestine. It yields the substance called manna, which is obtained by making incisions in the bark, when the juice exudes and hardens. Among American species are the white ash (F.
ASHANTI americana), with lighter bark and leaves; the red or black ash (F. pubescens), with a brown bark; the black ash, (F. sambucifolia), the blue ash, the green ash, etc. They are all valuable trees. The mountain ash, or rowan, belongs to a different order.