Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CXCVIII · Topic 28: Tree study
198. Ash trees
Goal: Your child can recognize an ash by its opposite compound leaves, its diamond-patterned bark and its winged seeds.
You'll need
- An ash tree to visit, or ash leaves and seeds
- A nature notebook and a pencil (colored pencils if you have them)
What's in the book
The lesson has a leading thought, a method for the field notebook from fall to spring, and six observations on the bark, the compound leaf, the seeds, the flowers, the uses of ash wood and the kinds of ash.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Begin in the fall and continue in spring. The book wants every child to see the tree where it grows and to answer in a field notebook.
The leading thought
The ashes are our most valuable timber trees; the white ash is one of the most beautiful and useful of them all.
Bark
What is there about the bark of the ash tree which distinguishes it from other trees?
Look for ridges that cross and make a pattern of diamonds.
The leaf
The ash leaf is a compound leaf; of how many leaflets is it composed?
How are the leaves arranged on the twigs? How does this distinguish the ashes from all other of our trees having compound leaves?
Seeds
Describe the seeds of the ash and the way they are arranged on their stems.
How long do they cling? How does the snow help to scatter them?
What we know now
Since about 2002 an insect from Asia, the emerald ash borer, has killed many millions of ash trees in North America. If you find an ash with thin, dying branches and D-shaped holes in its bark, that may be why. Many towns have had to cut their ash trees down.
Nature notebook
Draw one ash leaf with all its leaflets, showing how two leaves sit opposite each other on the twig. Draw a seed with its single wing.
Answers to the book's problems
White ash leaves usually have seven leaflets (five to nine). The leaves are opposite each other on the twig; most compound-leaved trees, such as hickories, have alternate leaves, though box elder (a maple) and horse-chestnut are also opposite. The single-winged seeds hang in bunches and cling into winter; wind slides them across the snow. Ash wood is used for tool handles and baseball bats.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.