Fraxinus excelsior   Ash CCC DD N

Fraxinus excelsior close buds first stage Fraxinus excelsior close buds second stage Fraxinus excelsior close buds third stage Fraxinus excelsior close buds fourth stage

The sooty black buds break open to reveal a flower of delicate reproductive parts a few weeks before the leaves appear. Male and female flowers look very similar. The ash is the last to come into leaf and one of the first to lose its leaves in Autumn.

F. excelsior is found throughout the British Isles except for a few places in the highest northern hills of Scotland.

Fraxinus excelsior

Fraxinus excelsior Ash

Greta Orme, North Wales, May 8th 2008

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Fraxinus excelsior

Edge of Cheshire footpath, April 10th 2005

Added on April 10th 2005, updated January 16th 2009, updated 31st March 2010

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