Fraxinus anomala is a species of ash tree known by the common name single-leaf ash. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in a number of habitats including desert scrub and chaparral. It is unusual in the genus in that some (though not all) specimens have simple leaves instead of the Pinnation leaves more characteristic of the group.
Description
Fraxinus anomala is a deciduous
shrub or small tree approaching maximum heights of five to six meters. The leaf may be simple or it may be compound, composed of up to five leaflets which look like individual leaves. Each leaflet is oval-shaped to round and may have teeth along the edges. The undistinguished brownish flowers lack petals. The fruit is a flat samara up to two centimeters long and one wide, green when young and tan to brown when mature. The samaras hang in bunches.
Distribution
In
Arizona, singleleaf ash is found along the Arizona transition zone of the
Mogollon Rim. In northern Arizona's
Grand Canyon, the range extends down the main canyons from southern and southeastern
Utah, its major range area, where the
Canyon Lands also show the range entering upper reaches of river basins flowing from western
Colorado –
Colorado River and
; also the shorter Yellowjacket and
in Colorado's extreme southwest.
In the
Mojave Desert of
California, it is found in the
sky island chaparral and woodland
. Minor locales also occur in southern
Nevada and southern
Wyoming.
[ Biota of North America Program, Fraxinus anomala ]
External links
