Maud Gordon Holmes Arboretum

Scientific name: Fraxinus pennsylvanica

Common name: green ash

Native: Yes

Native range: Native to the United States and Canada, ranging from the East Coast to as far west as Wyoming and Colorado [1,3,4].

Distribution in North America: Click to view the USDA Plants Database page for F. pennsylvanica.

USDA Zones: 3A-9A [3]

Maximum age: Lives between 80-100 years [6].

Ecology: Small animals use the foliage for cover, and the seeds are consumed by birds and rodents [1,2,4]. Deer browse the leaves [2]. Its foliage hosts a number of butterfly and moth species, including the eastern tiger swallowtail, Papilio glaucus, and the largest moth native to North America, Hyalophora cecropia [7]. The tree is vulnerable to the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis, an invasive pest that is responsible for the loss of millions of ash trees [1,2,4].

Ethnobotany: The lumber is useful for making tools and is sometimes used to make baseball bats [4]. It is widely planted as an ornamental, to create windbreaks, and to provide shade [1,2,3]. Indigenous American groups use the wood as a building material [5].