About Fraxinus profunda (Bush) Bush
Pumpkin ash, scientifically named Fraxinus profunda (Bush) Bush, is a medium-sized deciduous tree. It typically reaches 12 to 30 meters (39 to 98 ft) in height, with a trunk up to 1 meter in diameter; exceptional individual trees can grow to 50 meters (160 feet) tall with a 4.7 meters (15 feet) diameter trunk. Key morphological traits of pumpkin ash are as follows: Mature trees have gray, thick bark that is fissured in a diamond pattern. Its buds are dark brown to blackish with a velvety texture. The leaves are 25 to 40 centimeters (9.8 to 15.7 inches) long, oppositely arranged, and pinnately compound with 7 to 9 leaflets. Each leaflet is 8 to 20 centimeters (3.1 to 7.9 inches) long and 5 to 8 centimeters (2.0 to 3.1 inches) broad, with smooth or obscurely serrated margins and short petiolules. The abaxial (lower) surfaces of leaflets are tomentose and do not have a dense covering of papillae, which is visible at greater than 40x magnification. Its flowers are wind-pollinated, purplish-green, lack a corolla, are borne in panicles, and bloom in spring shortly before leaves emerge. The fruit is a samara 5 to 8 centimeters (2.0 to 3.1 inches) long, containing a single seed with an elongated apical wing 9 millimeters (0.35 inches) broad. Like other species in the section Melioides, pumpkin ash is dioecious: male and female flowers grow on separate individual trees. Pumpkin ash trees often develop bulbous swollen trunk bases, and this trait is sometimes noted as a diagnostic feature for the species. However, not all pumpkin ash trees display this feature, and other ash species such as green ash can also develop swollen trunks when growing in very wet habitats. Pumpkin ash has a discontinuous native range in eastern North America. It occurs mainly in swamps and river bottoms of the Atlantic coastal plain, Mississippi valley, and lower Great Lakes basin, and is noticeably absent from intervening regions such as the Appalachian Mountains. Widespread damage caused by the invasive emerald ash borer has left pumpkin ash near extirpation in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida, and it is considered critically endangered in Canada. Pumpkin ash reaches sexual maturity and begins producing fruit at approximately ten years of age. Seeds develop over the summer and are dropped in early fall. The winged samaras are adapted for wind dispersal, but pumpkin ash seeds are uniquely adapted to water dispersal and can survive submersion for several months. Seedlings grow best in moist soils within canopy openings and are sensitive to shade. Young trees grow extremely quickly and can rapidly reach a height that allows them to compete with mature trees. Pumpkin ash grows primarily in swamps, floodplains, and other wet bottomland habitats. Along with other ash species, it serves as a food plant for the larvae of multiple Lepidoptera species. Pumpkin ash is threatened by the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect that has destroyed large numbers of ash trees across eastern North America. In 2017, the IUCN assessed pumpkin ash as Critically Endangered, due to observed massive population declines across most of its range. In 2021, pumpkin ash was listed as endangered in Canada under the Species at Risk Act, 2002. Pumpkin ash provides resources for both humans and animals including deer and birds. Birds such as wood ducks feed on the fruit of Fraxinus profunda. Deer feed on the tree's twigs and leaves. Humans use the woody portions of the tree as lumber for building. In addition to lumber, pumpkin ash wood is also used to make tool components such as tool stocks or handles. It is also used for lumber, naval store products, and nursery stock products.
