3 Types Of Ash Trees In Michigan (Pictures & Identification)
Ash trees are prevalent in Michigan, and their presence adds a unique beauty to the state’s landscapes. If you like to hike, watch birds, or just spend time outside, knowing how to tell the different kinds of ash trees in Michigan apart can make your experience better.
This article aims to help you identify the three types of ash trees found in Michigan through pictures and descriptions.
With the emergence of the emerald ash borer, a destructive insect that feeds on and ultimately kills ash trees, being able to distinguish between different types of ash trees can help in determining which trees may be more resistant to the pest. Identifying ash trees is also essential if you want to make smart decisions about planting, managing, and saving trees.
With this in mind, let’s delve into the three types of ash trees in Michigan and their unique characteristics.
1. Black Ash
- Common Name: Black Ash
- Scientific Name: Fraxinus nigra
- Mature Height: 40-60 feet (12-18 meters)
- Flowers/Cones: Small green flowers
- Uses: Tennis racquets, baseball bats, snowshoes, and hockey sticks
Black Ash (Fraxinus nigra) is a small tree in the Olive family. It can reach a height of 40-50 feet, with an open narrow crown and upright branches. The trunk frequently leans or bends.
The compound leaves are 9-17 inches long, oppositely connected, and composed of 7-13 slender tapered leaflets. Each leaflet is 3-5 inches long, has a pointed apex and fine-toothed borders, is sessile (without a stalk), and is yellowish-green in color.
The bark of the tree is normally light gray, becoming corky with ridges that peel off like scales. It’s soft enough to imprint with your fingernail and flake off when rubbed. Green blooms around 18 inches in diameter grow in loose clusters on Black Ash.
Its fruit is a green-winged seed (samara) that matures to be approximately 1-2 inches long and grows in clusters, typically lingering on the tree far into the winter. The tree’s leaves turn yellow and brown in the autumn.
Black Ash is a Michigan native that grows in wet soils, floodplains, and other locations that can withstand standing water for several weeks. Although the tree is shade-intolerant, it can thrive in other conditions as well.
2. White Ash
- Common Name: White Ash
- Scientific Name: Fraxinus americana
- Mature Height: 40-60 feet (12-18 meters)
- Flowers/Cones: Green-winged seed (samara) turning brown when mature
- Uses: Tennis racquets, baseball bats, snowshoes, and hockey sticks
Native to Michigan, White Ash (Fraxinus americana) is a medium-sized tree with a single trunk and a narrow, open, conical crown. The average length of its compound leaves is 12 inches (30 cm), and they are made up of 7 oval leaflets that are each 3 to 5 inches (7.5 to 12.5 cm) in size.
The leaves are oppositely attached, a dark green on top and a lighter green on the underside, and they have few or no teeth. The White Ash tree has a greenish-gray bark that is deeply furrowed and ridged in a diamond pattern.
The straight, narrow grain of white ash makes it perfect for making sports equipment like tennis racquets, baseball bats, snowshoes, and hockey sticks.
Of the 3 ash trees in Michigan, this one is the most common and fastest-growing, reaching a height of 10 feet (3 meters) in four to five years. It reproduces by seed annually, with exceptionally large seed crops every two to five years. Sprouts appear after a fire or from a surviving stump.
The white undersides of the leaves are what inspired the plant’s common name. The white ash tree is native to Michigan and thrives in the state’s sunny, dry, and well-drained upland areas.
The White Ash tree changes to a beautiful bronze-purple in the fall. White Ash trees can live anywhere from 150 to 200 years, making them an invaluable part of Michigan’s ecosystems.
3. Green Ash
- Common Name: Green Ash
- Scientific Name: Fraxinus pennsylvanica
- Mature Height: 50-60 feet (15-18 meters)
- Flowers/Cones: Compound, 9-16 inches long, made of 5-9 leaflets
- Uses: Baseball bats, tennis racquets, skis, and snowshoes
Green Ash is one of Michigan’s most common ash trees, thriving throughout the state. It was originally considered a distinct species and was known as Red Ash.
It can reach heights of 50 to 60 feet with a single straight trunk, rising branches, and an uneven crown. Green Ash’s compound leaves are composed of 5-9 stalked leaflets that are 1-2 inches long, toothless, or with a very finely-toothed border.
The leaves are attached oppositely on a very short petiolule. During the autumn season, the green leaves turn yellow.
Green Ash tree bark is brown, with deep furrows and short interlacing ridges that give it a diamond form. The green-winged seed (samara) grows on this tree, maturing to brown and ranging in length from 1-2 inches. These seeds often remain on the tree in clusters throughout the winter.
Green Ash trees enjoy damp soils and can be found in Michigan along streams, lowland forests, and shady regions. Green Ash, while not as water-tolerant as Black Ash, can live with its roots submerged for many weeks in early spring.
Insects can form unsightly growths (insect galls) at the tips of tiny branches. Despite this, Green Ash’s sturdy white-colored wood is highly appreciated for its usage in the manufacture of baseball bats, tennis racquets, skis, and snowshoes.
Ash Trees In Michigan – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
This section answers some of the most common questions about ash trees in Michigan on the internet.
Why is it important to identify ash trees in Michigan?
Identifying ash trees is important for taking care of and saving them, especially now that the emerald ash borer is killing so many of them. Knowing how to tell the difference between different types of ash trees can help determine which trees are more resistant to the pest and can help inform decisions about tree planting management. Also, if you know how to recognize ash trees, you’ll have a better time exploring Michigan’s natural areas and will be better able to watch birds and do other outdoor activities.
What are some key differences between the three types of ash trees in Michigan?
White ash, mountain ash, and black ash are the three types of ash trees found in Michigan. While they have some physical similarities, such as compound leaves and distinctive diamond-shaped bark patterns, they also have some significant differences. For example, white ash trees have more deeply furrowed bark than mountain or black ash trees, and black ash trees have more rounded leaf shapes than white and mountain ash.
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Sources
The Regional Gardening team makes sure that the information in our articles is accurate by only using sources that are known to be trustworthy. Some of these sources are peer-reviewed journals from government agencies, well-known universities, and scientific research organizations.
- Book – Michigan Trees A Guide to the Trees of the Great Lakes Region
- Book – Field Manual of Michigan Flora
- Book – Trees Of Michigan Field Guide
- Michigan’s Forests, Department of Natural Resources
- Michigan Botanical Society
- LSA Herbarium, University Of Michigan
- Department Of Forestry, Michigan State University
- Michigan Nature Association
