Scientific name: Fraxinus excelsior L.
Common name: Ash
Description
Habit: A large, woody, deciduous tree to 35 m high, usually wider than tall with a dense and rounded crown, branches low on trunk.
Leaves: Opposite, without stipules, pinnate with 9-15 leaflets, with a terminal leaflet; leaflets lanceolate, stalkless and toothed, about 4 cm long.
Flowers: In dense axillary or terminal panicles, appearing long before the leaves; blackish green, small, unisexual or hermaphrodite, actinomorphic; sepals and petals absent; stamens 2; ovary superior, style single, stigmas 2.
Fruits: An achene with a single and long membranous wing causing it to spin as it falls.
Twigs: Grey, thick and stout, buds black and velvety.
Bark: Smooth and grey, with fissures when older.
Habitat: Woods, hedges and rocky ground. Distribution: Abundant on the limestone, occasional to frequent elsewhere.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No