Does the Green Ash Tree Have Fruit or Nuts?

Seeds

• Winged samaras, also called “helicopters,” “whirligigs” or “whirlybirds,” contain one or more seeds in thin or rigid, fibrous sheathes. Although samaras grow in many shapes and sizes, green ash tree seeds are mostly straight and square-like with notched edges. The winged shape allows the samara to spin as wind carries it through the air. Frequency and wind speed determine the distance samaras can be carried away from green ash and other seed-dispersal trees. Seeds mature in late summer, and dispersal usually takes place in October through spring. Trees that produce single-seeded samaras or “helicopter” seeds include related ash (Fraxinus) varieties and those in the maple family (Acer spp).

Characteristics

• Green ash trees have strong trunks with ridged bark in dark brown or gray. Compound leaves, usually with seven, eight or nine smaller leaflets, grow opposite from each other on single stems about 10 to 12 inches long. Leaflets are bright green or yellowish green, turning yellow in the fall.

Environment

• Green ash trees grow well in full to partial sunlight and in sandy, rocky, organic or clay-based soils with pH between 6.0 and 8.0. Some varieties, such as “Newport” green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica “Newport”), grown in USDA zones 3 to 8, can tolerate periods of drought and lightly flooded roots. They are suitable for planting on city streets and in small landscape areas.

Pests and Disease

• Green ash trees are usually the healthiest among the ash family, notes the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, but trees attract scales, cankerworms and borers. Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) is a beetle that attacks all ash species. Although the leaf-chewing insects do little damage to foliage, larvae eat the trees’ inner bark, which affects its ability to absorb water and nutrients. Green ash trees are susceptible to diseases such as cankers, stem decay, leaf anthracnose and leaf rusts.