Not far from a small stream with a row of Lombardy Poplars, at the edge of a field, grow some big trees with rounded treetops. Those rather majestic trees are Ashes (Fraxinus excelsior).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWusXn1CKY46uJNAi9C0HPysAKjlDB8u4X8do9Hl29XI-1FWzrrFmM3qKVS7T9n57Y-89G4pZdlTylhUHdLd-5KnhIcJS72UTCeGc2m44VKKng-j7C3l3UsAOs8Wl541DKRtOCjaPEQUA/s640/fraxinus+excelsior-196299za-bl.jpg)
They grow nearly everywhere where there is enough moisture in the soil, not only as solitary trees but also as a part of deciduous forests and along rivers.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWitRTuSq0rkc1SS-k1Ss8ansPN2aaIqLgBWOvXA7uM8pI1pX3k2amXvMQtyyJfpdMsXbz9M_WxPXy-bCTNjlNN5nfyN0QakYGsqC3EOnhvPbHMPWX3ZFRkWYhyCnsJLMFQ7_ArtJyHF0/s640/fraxinus+excelsior-136200za-bl.jpg)
Those three Ashes are grown so high their treetops are hidden from view by lower vegetation; the leaves in the picture are those of trees and bushes that surround them.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHgGMl_NLQ2AUebuRtZMcrTLmGHG_R4DxJOnQoffNQ0iy-zKwlga2pmq5WOW88m0Rp4rPj48uEKqdjFkfQ4kxRFUN1bSFJKu8xYdL-yLdazfhtyTt9iaRR3yoVEk4xNUoD2q0RDYm6R8/s640/fraxinus+excelsior-155319z-bl.jpg)
On young trees the bark is smooth, when it grows older crevasses form, and the trunk begins to look like that of an Oak.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLctIDQ7_OhNUKg0yse5bH8-H1CVgDK0iiQQ5lZI4KCzZgsEgKQ_dpogP0T8LM4_52y0tERUgBJ4dO5icxC1d8z8j3j0sOA6qQHf9EJiuO_DGr_OfrLBVxWRGZ_H5J9sxqLepDIkT0WfM/s640/fraxinus+excelsior%252C+tronc-118344za-bl.jpg)
The leaves are pinnate and deep green. Here below you see those of a young tree from this year besides some Great Horsetails.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsKGZzO7M8G0PagHi0OmjqeXfaGvzb50EIkxAv26eXWY-QDU4DunVv5mI-pcKA31AWSh-D5bflsWI4RZ0PG-XJ_BNm1tWaYGafPAfX00XCu2pp5ZY-4Nb5RUhP0y-Q00FRHR9WTg77OU/s640/equisetum%252C+fraxinus-119125za-bl.jpg)
And now, in March, the flower buds of Ashes come out. Buds of flowers and leaves are black.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ejY8quZEOpk7kwj8pWqMXyED6H0CcRIiCOzpiH6fTTqJ54360tQxtapUiuqu2k9n8Vvl5CgEtYoPUM_qHla_XT492FXI0S3CQBweEZzYhYhzRsUn_ZmDr7nS9DB2DIK0GjDoi51Covg/s640/fraxinus+excelsior-155315zzb-bl.jpg)
This tree here only has male flowers. There are no petals or sepals, the stamina, some of them already open, are bare.