Mature green ash bark has many ridges and furrows and often has a yellowish tint. Stems will be smooth and have terminal buds (buds at the end) that look like a Phillip’s head screwdriver.
Plant of the Month: Green ash
chase.bergeson • July 14, 2023
Green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)
Green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) is the plant that we have recorded the most times at our wetland monitoring sites. We see many of its saplings at our site as well as mature trees. So how could it be in danger?
Green ash is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List as critically endangered due to its vulnerability to an invasive Asian beetle: the emerald ash borer. In NC, white ash, pumpkin ash, and Carolina ash are also vulnerable. This beetle lays its eggs on ash trees and larval emerald ash borers will feed on the tree, killing it, before flying to infest new trees. They have been responsible for the deaths of millions of trees and are likely to continue spreading. Human transportation of ash lumber, including firewood, has accelerated the spread of the emerald ash borer. There are some strategies for protecting trees, including cutting and burning infected trees to stop the spread and introducing predatory wasps. There is also promising evidence that some ash trees may show resistance to the beetle. However, it is likely that ash tree populations will continue to decline. You can find the extent of the emerald ash borer in North Carolina here. For more information: http://www.ncforestservice.gov/forest_health/fh_eabfaq.htm
Green ash is a Facultative Wetland (FACW) plant in the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain, meaning you are more likely to find it in a wetland than in an upland. It makes sense why we see so many at our wetland sites.
In summertime, a great way to identify many trees is by their leaves. What do you think of when you picture a leaf? How many leaves do you see pictured below?
One big leaf! Many Leaflets
Photo By: Alexander Rumpel
One leaf- 3 leaflets
Photo By: Lucie Baret
One leaf!
Photo By: beepboop
Each picture is of one leaf! The leaf is the part of the plant that connects to the stem at a leaf bud. Ash trees have compound leaves, which means that their leaves have multiple leaflets- which do not connect at leaf buds but are part of the leaf as a whole. Young green ash saplings may not have compound leaves.
Green ash leaflets are oval or lance shaped and toothed. They have a light green underside.
Just like red maples (Acer Rubrum), ash trees are one of the few trees that have opposite branching, meaning that one branch should always have a twin growing at 180 degrees from it. Of course, in the life of the tree one of the branches might fall off or be damaged, so always check for any opposite branching on the tree. If you can look closely, you might see a scar on the tree where you would expect to see a branch, indicating that there used to be one present.
Leaf
Photo By: Miles Panych
Leaf underside
Photo By: Miles Panych
Opposite branching and leaf buds
Photo By: James Mickley
Green ash trees may be confused for Carolina ash trees, but are often difficult to distinguish without the presence of its fruits (samaras). Green ash samaras are thin and pointy, while Carolina ash samaras are rounder. Although we currently conduct our vegetation surveys in summer, we can verify our identifications by returning in the Fall and winter and looking for fruits. The nice thing about iNaturalist is we can always go back and change our IDs, if necessary.
green ash friuts
Photo By: cbarron
Carolina ash friuts
Photo By: VTforester
For more plant resources checkout this guide on wetland plants:
https://www.ncwetlands.org/plantguide/
And useful keys through the herbarium: https://herbarium.ncsu.edu/keysetc.htm
Don't forget to check out our our iNaturalist page to see all the plants we've found so far!
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Celebrating Our Carolina Wetlands
North and South Carolina is starting to recover from one of the most severe droughts in recent history. Drought covered essentially both states with reservoirs like Falls Lake and Jordan Lake dropping well below normal and cities including Raleigh and Durham enacting mandatory water restrictions. While the drought is largely over (given the second wettest July on record), I still think it is important to understand how wetlands mitigate droughts because the bottom line is drought impacts would be a lot worse without wetlands.
July is Lakes Appreciation Month, an annual celebration led by the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) to recognize the many ways lakes enrich our lives—from providing drinking water and recreation to supporting wildlife and local economies. It is also an ideal time to recognize one of a lake’s most important, yet often overlooked, partners: lacustrine wetlands. When many people picture a lake, they imagine open water stretching to the horizon. But healthy lakes are much more than open water. Around their shorelines lies a dynamic transition zone where land and water meet. These shallow, vegetated areas are known as lacustrine wetlands, and they are among the most productive ecosystems in the Carolinas. What’s the Difference Between a Lake and a Wetland? Although they are closely connected, lakes and wetlands are not the same. A lake is generally a body of open water deep enough that sunlight cannot always reach the bottom. In contrast, a wetland is defined by the presence of water at or near the surface long enough to support hydric soils and plants adapted to saturated conditions. Lacustrine wetlands occupy the shallow margins of lakes where water levels fluctuate seasonally. Because sunlight reaches the bottom, these areas support an abundance of native aquatic plants such as pickerelweed, arrowhead, bulrushes, and water lilies. Rather than competing with lakes, these wetlands help lakes function as healthy ecosystems. Think of them as the lake’s living shoreline. Nature’s Water Filter Before rainwater reaches a lake, it often flows through wetlands. Along the way, wetland plants slow runoff, trap sediment, absorb excess nutrients, and filter pollutants. This natural treatment system helps improve water clarity and reduce harmful algal blooms. The same wetlands also soften the impacts of floods by temporarily storing stormwater and slowly releasing it after heavy rains. As we have discussed in recent newsletters, healthy wetlands provide one of our most cost-effective defenses against flooding while protecting downstream communities. A Haven for Wildlife Lacustrine wetlands are biodiversity hotspots. Their shallow waters provide spawning and nursery habitat for fish, breeding grounds for amphibians, nesting areas for turtles, and feeding habitat for wading birds. Dragonflies patrol above the vegetation while pollinators visit native flowering plants along the shoreline. Many species spend their entire lives within these wetlands, while others depend on them during critical stages of migration or reproduction. Remove the wetland, and the lake loses much of the biological richness that makes it special. Carolina’s Lake-Associated Wetlands Across North and South Carolina, remarkable lake-associated wetlands demonstrate this close relationship between lakes and wetlands. The majestic cypress-gum swamps surrounding Lake Waccamaw create habitat for rare plants and animals found nowhere else. The extensive shoreline wetlands of Lake Mattamuskeet, the largest natural lake in North Carolina, support hundreds of thousands of migratory waterfowl each winter. Reservoirs such as Jordan Lake , Falls Lake , and Lake Norman also contain valuable coves, embayments, and shallow wetlands that provide wildlife habitat while improving water quality. Closer to home, many neighborhood lakes, farm ponds, and municipal reservoirs include wetland fringes that quietly perform these same ecological services every day. While these wetlands may seem ordinary, together they form an important network that benefits both people and wildlife. Some of our Wetland Treasures such as Merchants Millpond , Robertson Millpond , and Phelps Lake Shoreline are Lacustrine wetlands. 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What is your favorite lake with beautiful wetlands? Share your photos and stories with the Carolina Wetlands Association and help us celebrate the wetland treasures that make our Carolina lakes so special. So go out and explore a wetland at your favorite lake or at one of our Wetland Treasures and remember that Carolina Wetlands Association is actively working to protect all wetlands. Your support is always appreciated. Rick Executive Director Carolina Wetlands Association
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