Ash Species Winter ID

[logbutcher]

Having a tough time identifying our ash species.
Any simple method to ID an ash FROM THE BARK, some fallen leaves under the snow, crown shape, bark color or form, or location ? Is it White Ash, Black Ash, Green Ash, Brown Ash ? The bark of the ashes looks like a typical white ash.
We're in Downeast Maine near Acadia. Most of the ashes are in a wet footed area in a woodlot that is mostly spruce and fir, unmanaged until I logged it in 2001. Now I'm just harvesting firewood and doing basic TSI.:bang:
Any really good ID books for this ?
Thanks.
Downeast

 

[jimmyq]

a very good book for this would be " Trees in Canada, John L. Farrar, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, ISBN: 1-55041-199-3"

It has twig, leaf, bud and bud scar diagrams for the species you listed. And of course many more trees also, with a key.

 

[Husky288XP]

Ash trees

Family: Oleaceae
Genus: Fraxinus
Species: americana(white), pennsylvanica(green), nigra(black)

The way to ID Ash trees is hard even with leaves. Seed (samaras), leaflet attachment, and buds are what really seperate Ashs at the specie level.

Note: Important ID Features, Not total morphology on the species

Black Ash: Bark looks like Hackberry when young and turns garyish and scaly with age. Bud is dark and pointed.

Green Ash: Bud dark and rounded. Leaflet attachment to leaflet stalk, leaflet attached directly to stalk lacking a so called petiole. Samara, seed tapers out to the seed wing.

White Ash: Bud dark and diamond shaped. Leaflet attached to leaflet stalk by means of a petiole. Samara, seed does not taper out to the seed wing.

 

[Husky288XP]

More photos courtesy of the Virgina Tech Dendrology homepage.

 

[Husky288XP]

Silviculture

White Ash is more of an upland species that you would find in fields, fence rows, etc.

Black Ash is a lowland species that is found mainly in wetlands, swamps, etc.

Green Ash is found in lowlands, stream banks, moist fields, etc.

Most Ashs are hard to ID just based on location, other than may be Black Ash.

 

[logbutcher]

288XP: Super jpegs. Now you're going to make me muck around in the ice and wet ground to find leaves and samara seeds for ID.
THX!!!
Indian groups use "brown ash" for basket making. They say it is not common here in northern Maine.