Ash (Fraxinus excelsior), also known as common ash, European ash or field ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family. It is native to Europe, Asia and North Africa. Ash is a deciduous tree growing to 20–40 m (66–130 ft) tall with a trunk up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) diameter, and a dense, oval crown. The bark is smooth and pale grey on young trees, becoming thick and fissured on old trees. The shoots are stout, greenish-grey, with short spur shoots. The leaves are opposite, simple pinnate with 7–13 leaflets; the leaflets have sharply serrated margins and are 3–10 cm long and 2–4 cm broad. Both male and female flowers appear in early spring before the leaves; they are borne in loose panicles 5–10 cm long at the tips of new shoots that develop from near the base of last year’s growths. Each flower has two stamens fused into an “L” shape; they differ morphologically between the sexes: those of males lack terminal globules while females possess them along with ovules contained within their bases which mature into winged fruits called samaras or keys that disperse over considerable distances by wind during autumn when they fall from the tree still containing their seeds inside them.
The wood is light brown to yellowish white; it can be readily worked but does not take well to nailing unless pre-bored due its splitting nature. It has good strength properties for its weight however bending strength can be low due to large end grain area especially along wide boards making it unsuitable for some uses such as joists without additional support. Common uses are fuel wood (including charcoal production), joinery such as doors and windows frames as well as interior trim work such as skirting boards, flooring, tool handles, ladders sporting goods such as bats,, spears, bows, fishing rods , pool cues , oars , paddles . It was also used historically in wheelmaking where it was considered superior to oak for this purpose because wheels made from it were lighter thus easier on horse teams pulling loads but unfortunately more prone than those made of oak to breakage under impact loading conditions often encountered on roads at that time. In modern times however even small vehicles may encounter impact loading conditions severe enough to cause failure of parts made from this wood resulting in serious injury or death so care must always taken when selecting it for any load bearing application regardless of size or weight.