 Photo ©
Carl Farmer |
Common in woods, and in any lowland ground where trees are allowed to get a foothold, preferring less acid soils. In limestone woods is often the dominant tree. Often absent from the more acid and upland wooded areas, but sometimes the odd isolated specimen is found, occasionally even in open moorland as in the picture on the left. Height up to 25 m. Terminal buds c 5-10 mm. Leaflets c 5-8 cm Skye ID: Leaves in opposite pairs on the twig, each leaf having several opposite pairs of leaflets. Rowan has similar leaves but they are alternately arranged on the twig. Ash is also easily recognised at any time of year by the large black buds (see fourth picture) Other features: In Spring the black buds open to reveal petalless flowers with purple stamens, followed by the leaves. The winged fruits are called "keys", they spin as they fall to earth owing to the twisting of the wing. Some trees have male or female flowers only, others have both. A tree without keys is either a male-only tree or one too young to have reached fruiting age. |
