Fraxinus lanuginosa

Fraxinus lanuginosa (Japanese ash; Japanese: アオダモ Aodamo) is a species of ash native to Japan and to the Primorye region of eastern Russia.[1][2]

Japanese ash
アオダモ Aodamo
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Oleaceae
Genus: Fraxinus
Section: Fraxinus sect. Ornus
Species:
F. lanuginosa
Binomial name
Fraxinus lanuginosa

Fraxinus lanuginosais a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 10–15 m tall with a trunk up to 50 cm diameter. The bark is smooth, dark grey. The buds are pale pinkish-brown to grey-brown, with a dense covering of short grey hairs. The leaves are in opposite pairs, pinnate, 10–15 cm long, with 3-7 leaflets; the leaflets are broad ovoid, 4–7 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, downy at the base on the underside, with a finely serrated margin, and short indistinct petiolules. The flowers are produced in panicles after the new leaves appear in late spring, each flower with four slender creamy white petals 5–7 mm long; they are pollinated by insects. The fruit is a slender samara 2–4 cm long and 3–5 mm broad, reddish, ripening brown.[3][4][5][6][7]

In the population of F. lanuginosa native to central Hokkaidō, northern Japan, "hermaphrodites and males commonly coexist in populations of the species. Hermaphrodites and males have identical flowering phenologies and pollen morphologies".[8]

It is closely related to Fraxinus ornus from Europe and southwest Asia, sharing similar flower characters.[7]

Cultivation and uses

The wood is strong and hard, with a tenacity that allows it to be bent into curves, such as for making tennis rackets and skis.[9] Its wood is also used in the making of baseball bats[10] and electric guitars.[11]

References
  1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Fraxinus lanuginosa
  2. Gen'ichi Koidzumi. 1926. Botanical Magazine Tokyo 40: 342
  3. This article includes text translated from the Japanese Wikipedia article アオダモ
  4. Aodamo web: Fraxinus lanuginosa Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese; google translation)
  5. Japan Trees Guide: Fraxinus lanuginosa (in Japanese; google translation)
  6. Hakuba Village: Fraxinus lanuginosa (in Japanese; google translation)
  7. Bean, W. J. (1978). Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles 8th ed., vol. 2. John Murray ISBN 0-7195-2256-0.
  8. Kiyoshi Ishida & Tsutom Hiura (1998). Guest Pollen Fertility and Flowering Phenology in an Androdioecious Tree, Fraxinus lanuginosa (Oleaceae), in Hokkaido, Japan. International Journal of Plant Sciences 159: 941–947.
  9. Nishikawa, Takaaki; Koizumi, Akio (2016). Shurui·Tokucho kara zaishitsu·yoto made wakaru juki to mokuzai no zukan [Illustrated Handbook of Trees and Their Lumber: from Species and Characteristics to Quality and Applications] (in Japanese). Sogensha. p. 8. ISBN 978-4422440064.
  10. Muto Goichi, Koizumi Akio, Hirai Takuro (2005) Mechanical characteristics of aodamo (Fraxinus lanuginosa) as baseball bats. Nihon Kikai Gakkai Sekkei Kogaku, Shisutemu Bumon Koenkai Koen Ronbunshu 15 304-05
  11. Guitar Wood Types & Tones FAQ
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