White Ash Traditional Cache

The Ashes are disappearing due to the Emerald Ash Borer, EAB. I searched for an EAB trap, but found these saplings. The first were next to a dead tree, but too close to other caches.

White Ash

Fraxinus , English name ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The genus is widespread across much of Europe, Asia and North America.

The tree's common English name, "ash", traces back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name originated in Latin. Both words also mean "spear" in their respective languages. The leaves are opposite (rarely in whorls of three), and mostly pinnately compound, simple in a few species. The seeds, popularly known as "keys" or "helicopter seeds", are a type of fruit known as a samara. Most Fraxinus species are dioecious, having male and female flowers on separate plants; if grown as an ornamental and both sexes are present, ashes can cause a considerable litter problem with their seeds. Rowans or mountain ashes have leaves and buds superficially similar to those of true ashes but belong to the unrelated genus Sorbs  in the rose family.

Fraxinus americana (white ash or American ash) is a species of ash tree native to eastern and central North America. It is found in mesophytic hardwood forests from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, south to northern Florida, and southwest to eastern Texas. Isolated populations have also been found in western Texas, Wyoming and Colorado, and the species is reportedly naturalized in Hawaii.

Characteristics

The name White Ash derives from the glaucous undersides of the leaves. It is similar in appearance to the Green Ash, making identification difficult. The lower sides of the leaves of White Ash are lighter in color than their upper sides, and the outer surface of the twigs of White Ash may be flaky or peeling. Green Ash leaves are similar in color on upper and lower sides, and twigs are smoother. Despite some overlap, the two species tend to grow in different locations as well; White Ash is a forest tree that commonly occurs alongside Sugar Maple while Green Ash is a pioneer species that inhabits riparian zones and disturbed areas.

Cultivation and uses

White ash is one of the most used trees for everyday purposes and, to keep up with high demand, is cultivated almost everywhere it can be. The wood is white and quite dense (within 20% of 670 kg/m3), strong, and straight-grained. It is the timber of choice for production of baseball bats and tool handles. The wood is also favorable for furniture and flooring. Woodworkers use the timber mainly for interior uses due to high perishability in contact with ground soil. It is also used to make lobster traps. Since the 1950s, it has also become a popular choice for solid electric guitar bodies. It makes a very serviceable longbow if properly worked. The wood was used in ceiling fan blades from the 1970s through the mid-1980s, though cane was sometimes simulated with plastic then. It is no longer used for ceiling fan blades in most countries.

The tree has a mast crop every 11 years and is very easy to plant and cultivate with a survival rate of 30%.

White Ash is not seen in cultivation as often as Green Ash due to its preference for undisturbed forest sites away from urban pollution and soil compaction, but sometimes has been planted for its consistently reliably autumn colors, which typically are bright orange and red hues as opposed to other species of ash that produce a uniform yellow color.

Other names occasionally used for the species include Biltmore ash, Biltmore white ash and cane ash.

Emerald ash borer

Main article: Emerald ash borer 

The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), also commonly known by the acronym EAB, is a green beetle native to Asia.

In North America the emerald ash borer is an invasive species, highly destructive to ash trees in its introduced range. The damage of this insect rivals that of Chestnut blight and Dutch Elm Disease. To put its damage in perspective, the number of chestnuts killed by the Chestnut blight was around 3.5 billion chestnut trees while there are 3.5 billion ash trees in Ohio alone. Dutch Elm Disease killed only 200 million elm trees while EAB threatens 7.5 billion ash trees in the United States. The insect threatens the entire North American genus Fraxinus, while past invasive tree pests have only threatened a single species within a genus. Since its accidental introduction into the United States and Canada in the 1990s, and its subsequent detection in 2002, it has spread to eleven states and adjacent parts of Canada. It has killed at least 50 million ash trees so far and threatens to kill most of the ash trees throughout North America.

The green ash and the black ash trees are affected. White ash is also killed rapidly, but usually only after green and black ash trees are eliminated. Blue ash displays some resistance to the emerald ash borer by forming callous tissue around EAB galleries; however, they are usually killed. White ash has been less affected by emerald ash borer due to its small population (unlike its cousin, F. americana is not commonly seen in cultivation) compared to green ash, which was planted in huge numbers as an ornamental.

Uses

Ash is a hardwood and is hard, dense, tough and very strong but elastic, extensively used for making bows, tool handles, baseball bats, hurleys and other uses demanding high strength and resilience.

It is also often used as material for electric bodies and, less commonly, for acoustic guitar bodies, known for its bright, cutting tone and sustaining quality. Some Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters are made of ash, as an alternative to the darker sounding alder. They are also used for making drum shells. Interior joinery is another common use of both European and white ash. Ash veneers are extensively used in office furniture. Ash is not used much outdoors due to the heartwood having a low durability to ground contact, meaning it will typically perish within five years. The Fraxinus japonica species is favored as a material for making baseball bats by Japanese sporting goods manufacturers.

Woodworkers generally like the timber for its great finishing qualities. It also has good machining qualities, and is quite easy to use with nails, screws and glue. Ash was commonly used for the structural members of the bodies of cars made by carriage builders. Early cars had frames which were intended to flex as part of the suspension system in order to simplify construction. The Morgan Motor Company of Great Britain still manufacture sports cars with frames made from ash. It was also widely used by early aviation pioneers for aircraft construction.

It lights and burns easily, so is used for starting fires and barbecues, and is usable for maintaining a fire, though it produces only a moderate heat. The two most economically important species for wood production are white ash, in eastern North America, and European ash in Europe.

The green ash (F. pennsylvanica) is widely planted as a street tree in the United States. The inner bark of the blue ash (F. quadrangulata) has been used as a source for blue dye.

The leaves of ash are appreciated by cows, goats and rabbits. Cut off in the autumn the branches can be a valuable winter supply for domestic animals.

Mythology and folklore

In Greek mythology, the Meliae were nymphs of the ash, perhaps specifically of the manna ash (Fraxinus ornus), as dryads were nymphs of the oak. They appear in Hesiod's Theogony.

The ash exudes a sugary substance that, it has been suggested, was fermented, to create the Norse Mead of Inspiration. In Norse Mythology, Yggdrasil was often seen as a giant ash tree. Many scholars now agree that in the past an error had been made in the interpretation of the ancient writings, and that the tree is most likely a European yew. (Taxus baccata). This mistake would find its origin in an alternative word for the yew tree in the Old Norse, namely needle ash (barraskr). In addition, ancient sources, including the Eddas, write about a vetgrønster vida, which means "evergreen tree". An ash sheds its leaves in the winter, while yew trees retain their needles. The first man, Ask, was formed from the "ash tree".

Elsewhere in Europe, snakes were said to be repelled by ash leaves or a circle drawn by an ash branch. Irish folklore claims that shadows from an ash tree would damage crops. In Cheshire, it was said that ash could be used to cure warts and rickets. In Sussex, the ash tree and the elm tree were known as "widowmakers" because large boughs would often drop without warning.

The cache is a tied in, camoed, "micro" pill bottle with 2 arrows on the lid, i.e. Push hard to open and close. Contents as usual: rolled log with rubber band and a tiny plastic bag. Please BYOP, no tweezers, put back as you found it and enjoy!