Fraxinus americana

Fraxinus americana, the white ash or American ash, is a fast-growing species of ash tree native to eastern and central North America.

The species is native to mesophytic hardwood forests from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, south to northern Florida, and southwest to eastern Texas. Isolated populations have also been found in western Texas, Wyoming, and Colorado, and the species is reportedly naturalized in Hawaii.

There are an estimated 8 billion ash trees in the United States – the majority being white ash trees and green ash trees. White ash trees are threatened by the spread of the invasive emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), detected in Detroit, Michigan in 2002 and now found in eastern Canada and the majority of U.S. states, whose larvae kill ash trees.