HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Fraxinus profunda'', the pumpkin ash, is a species of
ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
(''Fraxinus'') native to eastern
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the C ...
, where it has a scattered distribution on the Atlantic coastal plain and interior lowland river valleys from the
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...
basin in
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
and
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...
west to
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockfo ...
, southwest to
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
and southeast to northern
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to th ...
.Canada Native Plants
''Fraxinus profunda''
/ref>Ojibway Nature Centre

/ref>Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). 2022. COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Pumpkin Ash, ''Fraxinus profunda'', in Canada. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa. It grows in bottomland habitats, such as
swamps A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
,
floodplains A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goud ...
and riverbanks. It is threatened by the
emerald ash borer The emerald ash borer (''Agrilus planipennis''), also known by the acronym EAB, is a green buprestid or jewel beetle native to north-eastern Asia that feeds on ash species. Females lay eggs in bark crevices on ash trees, and larvae feed underne ...
(''Agrilus planipennis''), an invasive insect which has caused widespread destruction of ash trees in eastern North America.


Taxonomy

Pumpkin ash is a member of the olive family (
Oleaceae Oleaceae, also known as the olive family, is a taxonomic family of flowering shrubs, trees, and a few lianas in the order Lamiales, It presently comprises 28 genera, one of which is recently extinct.Peter S. Green. 2004. "Oleaceae". pages 296- ...
) and is placed in section Melioides of the genus ''Fraxinus''. Historically, it was frequently called ''Fraxinus tomentosa'' Michx., but since Michaux used this name interchangeably with the species now known as
green ash ''Fraxinus pennsylvanica'', the green ash or red ash, is a species of ash native to eastern and central North America, from Nova Scotia west to southeastern Alberta and eastern Colorado, south to northern Florida, and southwest to Oklahoma and e ...
(''F. pennsylvanica''), the name ''Fraxinus profunda'', which was applied by Benjamin Franklin Bush in 1901, was given precedence. Pumpkin ash is
hexaploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...
(n=138) and has been hypothesized to have originated as a fertile
hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
between green ash and white ash (''F. americana''), but this remains unproven''.'' The name pumpkin ash originates from early European settlers in
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...
and refers to the swollen trunk bases which this tree often produces in very wet habitats.


Morphology

Pumpkin ash is a medium-sized
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, afte ...
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated Plant stem, stem, or trunk (botany), trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondar ...
reaching 12 to 30 meters (40 to 100 feet) tall with a trunk up to 1 meter in diameter, although exceptional trees can reach 50 meters (165 feet) tall with a 4.7 meter (15 foot) diameter trunk. Important morphological characteristics of pumpkin ash include: * bark: gray, thick and fissured with a diamond pattern on mature trees * buds: dark brown to blackish, with a velvety texture *
leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...
: 25 to 40 centimeters (10 to 16 inches) long, oppositely-arranged, pinnately compound with 7 to 9 leaflets; leaflets 8 to 20 centimeters (3 to 8 inches) long and 5 to 8 centimeters (2 to 8 inches) broad, with smooth or obscurely serrated margins and short petiolules; abaxial (lower) surfaces are
tomentose Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plan ...
and lack a dense covering of papillae (visible at >40x magnification) *
flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...
s: wind-pollinated, purplish-green, lacking a corolla; borne in
panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...
s; blooming in spring shortly before the emergence of leaves *
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particul ...
: samaras 5 to 8 centimeters (2 to 8 inches) long, comprising a single
seed A seed is an Plant embryogenesis, embryonic plant enclosed in a testa (botany), protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, includ ...
with an elongated apical wing 9 millimeters (0.4 inches) broad.Virtual Herbarium of the Chicago Region
''Fraxinus profunda''
Michigan Natural Features Inventory
''Fraxinus profunda'' (pdf file)
Like other species in the section Melioides, pumpkin ash is
dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
, with male and female flowers produced on separate individuals. Pumpkin ash trees frequently produce bulbous swollen trunk bases and this is sometimes cited as a diagnostic feature of this species. However, not all pumpkin ash trees exhibit this feature and other ash species, such as green ash, can also produce swollen trunks in very wet habitats.


Reproduction

Pumpkin ash attains sexual maturity and begins producing fruit at approximately ten years of age. The seeds develop during the summer and are dropped in the early fall. The winged samaras are adapted to wind dispersal, but pumpkin ash seeds are uniquely adapted to dispersal by water and can survive submersion for several months. Seedlings thrive in moist soils in canopy openings and are sensitive to shade. Young trees are extremely fast growing and can quickly attain a height where they compete with mature trees.


Ecology

Pumpkin ash occurs primarily in swamps, floodplains and other wet bottomland habitats. Along with other ashes, it is a food plant for the
larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...
e of several species of
Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described specie ...
(see List of Lepidoptera that feed on ashes). Pumpkin ash is threatened by the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect which has destroyed large numbers of ash trees in eastern North America. In 2017, the IUCN assessed the pumpkin ash as Critically Endangered, due to observed massive population declines over most of its range. In 2021, pumpkin ash was listed as endangered in Canada under the ''Species at Risk Act'', 2002.


Distribution

Pumpkin ash has a discontinuous range in eastern North America, where it occurs mainly in swamps and river bottoms of the
Atlantic coastal plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
,
Mississippi valley The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
and lower
Great Lakes basin The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada, whose di ...
, but is conspicuously absent from regions in between, such as the
Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
. As a result of widespread damage by the emerald ash borer, pumpkin ash is near
extirpation Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, and is critically endangered in Canada.


Climate

Areas where pumpkin ash trees are found typically have an average rainfall of 101 to 122 centimeters (40 to 48 inches) of rain per year. During the growing season, from March to September, the average rainfall is around 66 centimeters (26 inches). Pumpkin ash can tolerate temperatures as low as -31 degrees Celsius (-24 degrees Fahrenheit).


Soils

Pumpkin ash grows in saturated wetland soils, including sites which are flooded year-round. Saplings tend to grow slower in very wet conditions compared to higher-elevation microsites.


Uses

Pumpkin ash trees provide resources for humans and animals such as deer and birds. Birds, like wood ducks, feed on the fruit of a ''Fraxinus profunda''. Deer feed on the twigs and leaves of the pumpkin ash tree, and the humans use the woody parts of the tree as lumber for building. In addition to being used as lumber, the wood of pumpkin ash trees can also be used in tools such as stocks or handles. The wood can also be used as lumber, naval store products, and nursery stock products.


Gallery

File:Fraxinus profunda Essex ON.jpg, Canopy of a pumpkin ash affected by emerald ash borer in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. File:Fraxinus profunda Elgin ON.jpg, Developing samaras of a pumpkin ash in
Elgin County Elgin County is a county of the Canadian province of Ontario with a 2016 population of 50,069. Its population centres are St. Thomas, Aylmer, Port Stanley, Belmont, Dutton and West Lorne. The county seat is St. Thomas, which is separated from ...
, Ontario, Canada. File:Fraxinus profunda Lambton ON.jpg, Rachis, petiolule and abaxial leaflet surface of a pumpkin ash leaf from
Lambton County Lambton County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the north by Lake Huron, which is drained by the St. Clair River, the county's western border and part of the Canada-United States border. To the south is Lake Saint C ...
, Ontario, Canada. File:Fraxinus profunda, RBGE 2008.jpg, Pumpkin ash in cultivation at
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...
.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5494018 profunda Trees of the Southeastern United States Trees of Ontario Trees of the Northeastern United States Trees of the North-Central United States Plants described in 1901 Trees of the Great Lakes region (North America) Dioecious plants