 This presentation is focused on how to identify ash trees, those in the genus Fraxinus. Green ash is the most common tree in North Dakota, but sometimes identifying ash trees is a little bit tricky. This video is about 10 and a half minutes long. It's easier to identify ash trees during the growing season than it is in winter. However, we'll give examples during both seasons to help explain some of the differences that you may see. This presentation is based on NDSU Extension publication F1633, Ash Tree Identification. The presentation will follow a slightly different outline compared to the publication. First we'll highlight some key identification characteristics, then we'll discuss some potential ash lookalikes. We're going to start with the branch and bud arrangement. Ash trees have branches, buds, and leaves that are in an opposite arrangement. That is they are found opposite from each other on either side of the stem or a smaller branch. This arrangement is found on twigs and smaller branches like these. Here's another example, and sometimes these pairs are fairly close together. The opposite arrangement is also found in the buds on the smallest of twigs like on this green ash. The same can be said of Manchurian ash twigs like this one. Black ash and white ash also have this same bud arrangement. They're found opposite from each other, except when they aren't. Sometimes buds will die over the winter, branches can break off as well. So the opposite arrangement is what is normal and most common, but it doesn't always occur. Green ash is most commonly confused with box elder. Both ash and box elder share a number of common characteristics. First, box elder also has opposite branching. That opposite arrangement also occurs in the buds and therefore the leaves as well, except when it doesn't, just like green ash. That is the same thing that sometimes happens with green ash can also happen with box elder. Branches and buds can die or break off, resulting in branching that doesn't fit the model of opposite. The bark of ash trees is, in some ways, unique. But in other ways it's similar to that of other species. The bark of mature trees is gray and has deep furrows and ridges. It sometimes can break into a diamond shaped pattern. On young trees the bark is smooth and sometimes it's orange. As the tree gets older and bigger, the bark begins to crack and form into the pattern seen later in life. The bark of mature box elder trees also is gray and breaks into ridges and furrows. Box elder bark isn't as deeply furrowed as ash bark. Also, there are various shades of gray of tree bark. Sometimes box elder bark is lighter colored than green ash, while sometimes it's darker. Let's switch to the seeds. First, I want to point out that ash trees are dioecious. There are separate male and female trees. The female tree in the foreground of the photo has retained a lot of its seeds into the winter. The tree in the background is a male. A lot of female green ash trees retain their seeds throughout the winter. Black ash trees, which are uncommon in North Dakota, lose their seeds pretty quickly in the fall. Ash seeds are clustered together near the end of the branch tips. Ash seeds are an orange-brown. Again, though, we have to go back to box elder. Box elder is also dioecious with separate male and female trees, and the seeds are also held well into the winter. If we look closely, though, we see a clear difference in box elder seeds compared to green ash. Yes, there is a cluster of seeds, but the box elder seeds are arranged in pairs and the pairs are held in elongated clusters. Also, the seeds of box elders are a much lighter yellow tan color. Identifying the difference between ash and box elder doesn't depend on the seeds or the bark or the branch arrangement or the leaves. The key to differentiating between ash and box elder is the twigs. Here are several picks of green ash twigs and a manchurian ash twig. Green ash twigs are usually gray, so are black ash and white ash. Green ash has this yellowish tinge. Box elder twigs have a whitish, waxy bloom on them. The base color behind that white bloom is usually a bluish purple. The buds are also white, while those of ash are usually tan or black. When the twigs of green ash and box elder are seen side by side, the difference should be clear. The colors of both the twigs and the buds are different between the two species. All of the characteristics discussed so far, branch arrangement, bark, seeds, twigs, can be seen in both winter and summer. The only thing that can be seen in summer, but not winter, are the leaves. Ash trees have compound leaves. How do you identify a compound leaf versus a simple leaf? Compound leaves contain multiple leaflets, but how can you tell that these are leaflets and not just small leaves? Look for the buds. Buds are found along the twig, and these are what define where a leaf begins. It doesn't matter what species it is. The bud defines where the leaf begins. Some species have simple leaves, just one whole leaf surface, while others have compound leaves. And of course, just to mess things up a bit, box elder also has compound leaves. During the growing season, the buds of box elder are hidden a little bit, so you'll have to look closely to make sure you find them. Nevertheless, once you find the bud, you'll see that box elder has a compound leaf as well. So the key identifiers for ash trees are the following. Ash trees have opposite branching, and they carry compound leaves and twigs that are usually gray without that white, waxy bloom that's found on box elders. Also the seeds found on the female trees are pretty distinct, at least close up. That said, there are several trees that can be confused with ash based on those characteristics. We've already discussed box elder in depth, so we'll skip that one for now. Here are the trees that are most commonly confused with green ash. We'll start with black walnut. Black walnut also has a compound leaf, though it's usually a lot longer than those found on ash trees. More importantly, the leaves are arranged alternately along the twigs, not opposite. This is key. Also the fruit is totally different. Black walnut fruit is held on the tree only during the growing season, not over winter, so looking at bud arrangement in winter will help with identification. Also besides this visual cue, I actually use an olfactory cue to identify walnuts. The twigs, leaves, and fruit all have a distinctive aroma if you scratch the surface of any of them. Amer cork tree is another species that could potentially be confused with green ash, though it's pretty uncommon in North Dakota. Amer cork tree also has compound leaves that are opposite from each other. However, the buds are completely hidden at the base of the leaf. The only way to see the buds is to remove the leaf. On ash trees, the buds are visible even during the growing season. Also the fruit of Amer cork tree is completely different from that of ash trees. And again, Amer cork tree is very uncommon in North Dakota. One genus that is commonly confused with ash is mountain ash. Note that the name mountain ash is hyphenated. This tells us that these trees are not true ashes. Instead of being in the genus Fraxinus in the olive family like ash trees are, mountain ashes are in the genus Sorbus in the rose family. Mountain ash trees have compound leaves similar to true ashes. However, the branch arrangement is alternate, whereas the branch arrangement on true ashes is opposite. The flowers and fruit are vastly different between mountain ash and true ash as well. There are a few more lookalikes that are not presented here, but I want to list them briefly. Prickly ash is a native shrub that's often found on the edge of forests. Like the name implies, it has thorns. Honey locust is fairly common in urban areas, but its compound leaf is often doubly compound, and it has alternate branching. Kentucky coffee tree has also become more common in recent years, but similar to honey locust, it has alternate branching and its leaf is doubly compound. Black locust is very uncommon in North Dakota, I've seen fewer than 10. Its twigs are very thorny. That or not is similar to black walnut, just with elongated fruit, that is nuts, instead of the rounded nuts found with black walnut. Hickories are almost as rare as black locust in North Dakota. Hickories also have compound leaves that are alternately arranged on the twigs. In summary, identifying ash trees can be a little tricky, especially given the similarities between species and certain characteristics like branching type, that is opposite versus alternate. However, when all those key characteristics are combined, identification becomes pretty straightforward. Thanks for watching.