Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Marsh.

Form.—Height 30-65 feet, diameter 1-3 feet; trunk straight and clear with many upright branches which form a compact, broad, irregular crown.

Leaves.—Opposite, pinnately compound, 10-12 inches long, with 7-9 leaflets 3-5 inches long, oblong-lanceolate, taper-pointed, almost entire, pale or more or less pubescent.

Flowers.—May; dioecious; in downy panicles on shoots of the previous season.

Fruit.—Matures in early autumn and is persistent for several months; samaras 1-2 inches long, borne copiously in drooping clusters.

Bark.—Twigs usually pubescent, on old trunks rough with scaly dark gray-brown ridges.

Wood.—Heavy, hard, strong, brittle, light brown, with thick, yellow-streaked sapwood.

Range.—Vermont and Minnesota south to Florida and Texas.

Distribution in West Virginia.—Collected along New River, Fayette County; reported from Randolph, Upshur, Wood and Mason counties.

Habitat.—Prefers moist soils of river bottoms and borders of swamps.

Notes.—Red Ash is occasionally found along some of the streams of the State but does not grow in sufficient quantities to be of any commercial importance. It can usually be distinguished from the White Ash by its pubescent twigs and petioles, and its somewhat different fruits. A variety of this species, lanceolata, is also to be found in some places along the streams.