The following pictures will help in identifying Ash in
your area. Seed submission forms are at the bottom of the page.
From the USDA:
Plant Materials Program & National Ash
Tree Seed Collection Initiative
National Ash Tree Seed Collection Initiative
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In the event that the emerald ash borer
cannot be contained, the Rose Lake Plant Materials Center is
taking steps to see that the ash tree doesn't vanish forever.
The PMC has initiated the National Ash
Tree Seed Collection Initiative. An agreement has been
established to store ash tree seed at the National Center for
Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, Colo. The U.S.
Forest Service has agreed to x-ray the collected ash seed to
determine sound seed for storage. If the ash tree populations
are completely decimated by the ash borer, the stored seeds can
be used as the genetic base for work to re-establish ash trees
for future generations.
The PMC is seeking volunteers to collect
seed from ash trees throughout the U.S. in the growing regions
of ash trees. Additional information on the initiative along
with identifying and collecting ash seed is contained in the
documents linked below.
Information courtesy of
NRCS
Plant Materials Center
History of the Emerald Ash Borer
The emerald ash borer is an insect species native to
Asia. It is believed to have entered the United States sometime in the
mid-1990’s near Detroit, Mich. The emerald ash borer has spread
throughout much of Michigan as well as surrounding states and Canada.
Local, state and federal officials have attempted to slow its spread.
Ash trees in infested areas have been destroyed and there is a ban on
moving ash logs or firewood. Despite these efforts the ash borer
continues to spread.
The Emerald Ash Borer
The emerald ash borer is a beetle that infests ash
trees. The insect lays its eggs in crevices in the trees’ bark. The
larvae then bore into the tree and feed beneath the bark. An infested
tree typically will die in two to three years.
Photo Courtesy
USDA Agricultural
Research Service
Figure 1. Black Ash Leaf. Figure
2. Blue Ash Leaf.
Photograph courtesy of Cook, Bill. Michigan
Photograph courtesy of Kling, Gary J.
State University Extension
Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Figure 3. Green Ash Leaf. Figure
4. White Ash Leaf.
Photograph courtesy of
Photograph courtesy of Wray, Paul.
Robert H. Mohlenbrock @ USDA-NRCS
Iowa State University
PLANTS Database / USDA SCS. 1989.
www.forestryimages.org
Midwest wetland flora: Field office illustrated
guide to plant species
.
Midwest National
Technical Center, Lincoln, NE
Figure 5. Black Ash Tree.
Figure 6. Blue Ash Tree.
Photograph courtesy of USDA-NRCS
Photograph courtesy of City of West
PLANTS Database/ Herman, D.E. et al. 1996.
Bend, WI
North Dakota tree handbook
.
USDA NRCS ND
State Soil Conservation Committee;
NDSU Extension and Western Area Power Admin.,
Bismarck, ND
Figure 7. Green Ash Tree.
Figure 8. White Ash Tree.
Photograph credits as in Figure 5.
Photograph courtesy of University of
Missouri Extension
Figure 9. Black Ash Seed.
Figure 10. Blue Ash Seed.
Photograph courtesy of Steve Hurst @
Photograph courtesy of Virginia Tech
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
Figure 11. Green Ash Seed.
Figure 12. White Ash Seed.
Photograph courtesy of Steve Hurst @
Photograph courtesy of Steve Hurst @
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
Collection form and instructions
Comments or
suggestions? Email the
webmaster.
