1.3 Ashes of the Western PalearcticThe Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth surface (see ). Physically, the Palearctic is the largest ecozone. It includes the terrestrial ecoregions of Europe, Asia north of the Himalaya foothills, northern Africa, and t ( EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Se, north AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. 30,244,050 km2 (11,677,240 mi2) including the islands, it covers 20. 3% of the total land area on Earth, and with over 800 million human inhabitants it accounts for ar and southwest Asia)

• Fraxinus angustifolia Narrow-leafed Ash
  • Fraxinus angustifolia var. oxycarpa (F. oxycarpa) Caucasian Ash
• Fraxinus excelsior European Ash
• Fraxinus holotricha
• Fraxinus ornus Manna Ash or Flowering Ash
• Fraxinus pallisiae Pallis' Ash

1.4 Ashes of the Eastern Palearctic (central & eastern Asia)

• Fraxinus apertisquamifera
• Fraxinus baroniana
• Fraxinus bungeana Bunge's Ash
• Fraxinus chinensis Chinese Ash or Korean Ash
• Fraxinus chiisanensis
• Fraxinus floribunda Himalayan Manna Ash
• Fraxinus griffithii Griffith's Ash
• Fraxinus hubeiensis
• Fraxinus lanuginosa
• Fraxinus longicuspis Japanese Ash
• Fraxinus malacophylla
• Fraxinus mandshurica Manchurian Ash
• Fraxinus mariesii Chinese Flowering Ash
• Fraxinus micrantha
• Fraxinus paxiana
• Fraxinus platypoda
• Fraxinus raibocarpa
• Fraxinus sieboldiana Japanese Flowering Ash
• Fraxinus spaethiana Späth's Ash
• Fraxinus trifoliata
• Fraxinus xanthoxyloides Afghan Ash

2 Uses

The wood is hard, tough and very strong but elastic, extensively used for tool handles, quality wooden baseball bats, hurleys and other uses demanding high strength and resilience. It also makes excellent firewood. The two most economically important species for wood production are White Ash in eastern North America, and European Ash in Europe. The Green Ash is widely planted as a street tree in the United States. The inner bark of the Blue Ash has been used as a source for a blue dye.

3 Cultural aspects

In Norse mythology, the World Tree Yggdrasil was an ash tree, and the first man, Ask, was formed from an ash tree (the first woman was made from alder). Elsewhere in Europe, snakes were said to be repelled by ash leaves or a circle drawn by an ash branch. Irish folklore claims that shadows from an ash tree damage crops. In Cheshire, it is said that ash could be used to cure warts or rickets.

4 Other name uses (disambiguation)

In North America, the name ash is also given to species of Sorbus, more accurately known as Rowans and Whitebeams. In Australia, many common eucalyptus species are called ash because they too produce hard, fine-grained timber. The best known of these is the Mountain Ash, the tallest broadleaf tree in the world.

5 Threats

As of 2004, the emerald ash borer threatens some 7 billion ash trees in the United States.

6 See also

• Trees of Britain
• Trees of the world

Trees

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