Preferred by sportsmen everywhere
Ash is the traditional choice for making baseball bats, oars, skis and other sporting goods. The wood is also prized for flooring, cabinetry and other high-value wood products, but there is not a well-developed local ash industry in Oregon.
Range
A native tree, the Oregon ash is found throughout the Pacific Northwest's interior valleys, along streams and in wet sites. In fact, its tolerance to standing water allows this tree to grow on the most poorly drained valley soils, where no other tree species will grow.
Character
A small to medium, shade-tolerant broadleaf tree up to 100 feet tall. The Oregon ash has unique leaves, which are elliptical in shape and have five to nine leaflets per compound leaf. Fruit is single-seeded bracts known as samaras that resemble little canoes.
Understory
As a smaller, tree, Oregon ash is often an understory tree species itself. Its understory consists of shade- and moisture-tolerant shrubs and ferns.
Climate
Prefers damp soil and a cool and moist climate with some sun.
Management
Oregon ash is not generally managed for timber production, but it shows great potential due to its moderate growth, straight trunk and excellent wood characteristics. The emerald ash borer has decimated ash stands in the Midwest and is a potential threat to Oregon ash.