An ash can be any of four different tree
genera from four very distinct
families (see end of page for disambiguation), but originally and most commonly refers to trees of the genus Fraxinus (from
Latin "ash tree") in the
olive family
Oleaceae. The ashes are usually medium to large
trees, mostly
deciduous though a few subtropical species are
evergreen. The
leaves are opposite (rarely in whorls of three), and mostly pinnately-compound, simple in a few
species. The
seeds, popularly known as keys, are a type of
fruit known as a
samara. The tree's common English name goes back to the Old English æsc, a word also routinely used in Old English documents to refer to spears made of ash wood.
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