OTHER COMMON NAMES: FLOWERING ASH, FRESNO BOTANICAL NAME:
Fraxinus cuspidata PRONUNCIATION: FRAK-suh-nus cus-pi-DA-tah
FAMILY: Oleaceae (Olive Family) TYPE: Deciduous ornamental tree
HEIGHT: 10 to 20 feet SPREAD: 8 to 12 feet FINAL SPACING: 8 to
15 feet NATURAL HABITAT AND PREFERRED SITE: It grows naturally
in the canyons of the Devils and Pecos Rivers along the Rio
Grande in Val Verde County and on the western Edward’s Plateau.
It primarily grows in the Trans-Pecos and far west Texas on
mountain slopes and in canyons, primarily rocky soil conditions.
IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION: Fragrant ash has white flowers that
are very fragrant - the only ash with this kind of flowers. It
is more shrubby than tree like and has long thin leaflets on
compound leaves. FLOWERS AND FRUIT: Flowers have four white
petals that appear as the leaves first emerge in the spring and
are born on clusters 3 or 4 inches long. In the spring fragrant
ash seem to be completely covered with a white blanket of
flowers. Bloom period is general