How does ash care for us?

Ash trees are a common tree in northeastern United States, often planted to replace Elm trees that were wiped out by Dutch Elm Disease in the 20th century.  Ash trees themselves counted for almost 50% of street trees until recently when they have been afflicted by the emerald ash borer beetle.  Long before all of that history, Ash trees were honored by many Indigenous communities in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada.  The baskets from black ash tree are well known.  In their ecosystem, ash provides shade for understory plants, seeds and leaves as food for small animals, nesting areas for birds, and wood products for humans. Their leaves retain more nutrients and are recycled more rapidly than those of most other trees, improving soils and supporting rich mycorrhizal communities. 

Looking at ash trees, their gray bark and delicate pinnate leaves grace our streets, parks, and yards.  Keep an eye out for their distinctive branch growth pattern, swooping down towards the ground and the curving upwards at their ends, most often visible in winter.  You might notice clusters of  ash keys, fruits that hang in large clusters looking like a ring of keys.

They are valued as a resource for tool handles and bats due to the incredible strength of the wood.  It was also ash from which spears were made.  Ash is a tree of power.  

If you see a healthy ash tree in a forest of diseased ash trees, let the US Forest know so they can study the genetic resilience of these rare survivors.