White Ash

By Gia B.

White Ash (Fraxinus americana) is a tree species native to the eastern United States and southern portions of Canada. They typically grow in wet places, more commonly known as flood plains, and don’t grow well in dry places. Almost anyone can agree that the undiseased trees are highly beautiful and intricate. The bark (along with the leaf, branch, and twig arrangement) is how you can pretty easily tell White Ash apart from other trees, as the White Ash bark has a very intricate design with a sort of diamond pattern as shown in the images seen in this article. The leaf blades are compound which means that there are two or more leaflets on each leaf. The leaves are normally made up of seven leaflets forming one very large leaf. The leaves are dark green in the summer and start turning dark purple or yellow in autumn. An adult White Ash tree can grow to be 50-80 feet tall and have a crown spread of 40-50 feet!

What damage can a tiny bug do?

White Ash trees are now an endangered species of tree. They were on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list as critically endangered. The reason that White Ash trees are endangered is that they are heavily affected by Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) or Agrilus planipennis. Emerald Ash Borers are an invasive beetle species that are a metallic green and they eat the bark on ash trees which causes the trees to die over a period of 2-5 years. First, they attack the upper canopy and trunk of a tree – damage looks like bark is missing from the trunk and underneath the bark are ‘trails’ left by the beetle feeding. As the infestation of a tree continues, it works its way down the trunk. Another sign is really heavy woodpecker feeding holes present. This pest was first found in 2002 near Detroit, Michigan, but it probably arrived earlier. The Agrilus planipennis is currently present in eleven Massachusetts counties and continues spreading. Emerald Ash Borers are currently active in over 36 states. In some areas of the country, the infestation of the beetle has led to decimation of the tree species.

There are groups of people that have been helping organizations save White Ash trees. The organizations are helping by treating the trees for EAB, and people are helping by reporting EAB infestations to organizations.

Woodpeckers and EAB

Woodpeckers have also been helping eliminate Agrilus planipennis by eating the beetles. It's a win-win situation because the woodpeckers help us get rid of the EAB and in return get a tasty beetle snack! The most known helpful native woodpeckers include Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens), Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus) and Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus). These woodpeckers are all listed as least concern on the IUCN red list.

White Ash on the Fournier property

Although the future looks grim for White Ash, the Fournier property boasts much of the habitat this tree species thrives in, which is more wet soil conditions due to the wetlands present. According to the forest stewardship plan, White Ash is one of the species that has grown on this property the longest. Also promising is that in the plan’s delineation of forest ‘Stand’ or ‘Unit’ 1 on the property “the new cohort of small trees contains ~8,000 stems <1” diameter at breast height (DBH) per acre. These are mostly black birch and white ash.” There are some new, small White Ash trees coming in! If EAB infestations can ever get under control, we may see more of this tree species here on the Fournier property.

Works cited

“ASH Fraxinus Species” https://www.nativetech.org/plantgath/ash.htm 3 Apr. 2023.

“Borers branch out from ash trees” https://newsela.com/view/ck9nooagz00ug0iqjjelkbunk/?levelId=ck7ecu75i048w14p7ffeipc9e 5 Apr. 2023

“Downy woodpecker” https://abcbirds.org/bird/downy-woodpecker/ 30 Mar. 2023.

“Emerald Ash Borer In Massachusetts” https://www.mass.gov/guides/emerald-ash-borer-in-massachusetts 6 Dec. 2022.

“Emerald Ash Borer In Massachusetts” Image. https://www.mass.gov/guides/emerald-ash-borer-in-massachusetts 6 Dec. 2022.

“Fraxinus americana—white ash” https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/fraxinus/americana 28 Mar. 2023.

“Fraxinus Americana (White Ash)” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/61918430/61918432 26 Mar. 2023.

“Hairy Woodpecker” https://abcbirds.org/bird/hairy-woodpecker/ 30 Mar. 2023.

Ingolia, Gina. THE TREE BOOK For Kids and Their Grown-ups. Brooklyn, Brooklyn Botanic Garden 2008.

“Invasive Beetles Destroy Ash Trees” https://newsela.com/view/ck9noom9b07rz0iqj44jq6r4h/?levelId=ck7ecxmfg14p014p70y6bw9 5 Apr. 2023

“Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Blog” https://massnrc.org/pests/blog/?p=1451 7 Dec. 2022

“Red bellied woodpecker” https://abcbirds.org/bird/red-bellied-woodpecker/ 30 Mar. 2023