How to distinguish ash from maple?

Ash and maple, if you look closely, are completely different trees, belonging to different families. We will talk below about how their fruits, foliage and everything else differ from each other.

To begin with, let's say that ash and maple belong to completely different families. The first tree belongs to the Olive family, the second to the Klenov family.

Maple foliage, as a rule, has a lighter shade, even slightly yellowish compared to ash foliage. Maple leaves are characterized by a complex shape: deeply dissected, with three, five or seven serrated plates... The length of their petiole usually varies between five and eight centimeters. They very little resemble ash leaves in appearance, which is why it is called ash-leaved.

If we talk about such a tree as ash, then its leaves are located opposite, and also somewhat resemble rowan leaves, but they are somewhat larger and have smoother edges, their shape can be called correct. Young shoots of ash have a yellowish-green tint, however, over time they become more saturated green.

To confuse American (or ash-leaved) maple with ash is possible only if you look at them quickly and inattentively. Yes, the maple has the same number of leaves on the petiole as the ash, one or three pairs, plus one more terminal, but the leaves of the maple have asymmetrical and uneven denticles, and besides, the last leaf will be much larger than the paired ones.

Ash and maple are easy to distinguish from a number of other obvious factors. These are the crown of these trees, as well as their branches.

1. Ash is characterized by a straight trunk of light gray color, hard and resilient wood and rare, at the same time, quite thick branches that go far, far up to the sky. Its height can reach as much as thirty meters! In addition, the leaves of the crown of the ash tree are located so that they easily transmit the light of the sun's rays, in addition, its bark is quite light. And therefore, among the distinctive features of ash, one can also count its type, which evokes admiration for its grandeur and lightness. By the way, even Dahl suggested that the name of ash has a connection with the word "clear", that is, "light".
2. As for the ash-leaved maple, it does not really strive to grow directly to the sky. Its wood is soft and very fragile, its branches grow in different directions, and sometimes, it happens, and hang down to the ground. The trunk of the American maple in most cases looks rather curved, while it may have several more daughter trunks. The tree itself tends to form growths on the trunk.

In addition, ash and ash-leaved maple still have a number of other obvious differences, such as, for example, seeds, their distribution, as well as fruits and other features.

Let's start with distribution. The maple-leaved tree species was brought from America specifically for the botanical garden, where it quickly took root. It was considered a fairly good option for ennobling and greening city parks and other areas.At the same time, this species can be called almost unkillable, because it quickly conquers territories for itself, on which after other types of trees no longer grow, and therefore it has no rivals. At the same time, it spreads quite quickly - it all starts with an ordinary seed stuck to the sole of the boot or to the wheel of one or another type of transport.

• The seeds of the American maple are one of its main distinguishing features; by the way, they are often called "helicopters" among the people. It is they who give out that the tree belongs to the Klenov family, and not to any other. Its seeds have double winged wings, somewhat resembling a sickle in shape, and there is a notch on the side. Ash-leaved maple seeds can be called wrinkled, while it is rather difficult to separate from the shell.
• If we talk about ash seeds, then the main distinguishing feature is a single lionfish, which looks like an oblong ellipse in shape. In comparison with maple, ash lionfish are quite graceful, but they also have a small notch that is located at the top.
• Similar in ash and maple is that they both reproduce quite well and quickly by self-seeding. In addition, in our latitude, both of them are quite common, they can often be found in forest areas, as well as in parks or along roads.

American maple buds resemble an egg and in themselves light and fluffy, its fruits are much larger in size than those of ash and, moreover, they are located exclusively in pairs. These are lionfish with rather elongated wings, which reach three and a half centimeters in size.

Ash fruits, on the other hand, look very elongated., in appearance somewhat resemble oars and can reach up to five centimeters in size and grow together, hanging down in whole bunches, which are also called "panicles". They are formed every year, and in very large numbers. They ripen only closer to September or October, while their seeds become flatter and wider, and slightly taper from below. Ash seeds, due to their high content of nutrients, which are fats (as much as thirty percent!) And proteins, are often used as food by many animals, mainly birds and species of small rodents.

It is also worth noting that the tree is very useful not only for animals, but also for people. For example, in the eighteenth century in England, the unripe fruits of this tree were actively canned, thanks to which people got an interesting flavoring for various dishes.