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Fraxinus anomala (Single Leaf Ash)
Oleaceae (Olive Family)

Semi-desert, foothills. Woodlands, openings, rocks, canyons. Spring.
Hidden Valley Trail, Utah, May 10, 2007.

Single Leaf Ash is, as its specific epithet indicates, an anomaly.  It is the only Ash with single, not compound, leaves, i.e., its leaves are whole, having no divisions.  The tree has multiple trunks, is typically 8-14 feet tall, and is found near washes and in rocky areas.

The tree pictured has young spring leaves that will grow and fill in the airy spaces.  Because this tree is growing in a canyon bottom near a small stream, it is less branched than most Single Leaf Ash trees and does not have the dead branches common to most Single Leaf Ash.  This tree is about twelve feet tall with the largest of its multiple trunks over three inches in diameter.

Linnaeus named this genus in 1753: "Fraxinus" is Latin for "Ash Tree".   Fraxinus anomala was collected by Newberry and Palmer independently in Utah in the late 1850s and was named by John Torrey in 1871.

Fraxinus anomala (Single Leaf Ash)
Oleaceae (Olive Family)

Semi-desert, foothills. Woodlands, openings, rocks, canyons. Spring.
Near McElmo Canyon, May 14, 2001.

Cluster of tiny, petal-less, and short-lived flowers change from yellow to light greenish-yellow.

Leaf margins can be almost smooth (as in the two background leaves), very slightly serrated (as in the foreground leaf) or finely and sharply serrated (as in the leaves shown in the picture below).

Fraxinus anomala (Single Leaf Ash)
Oleaceae (Olive Family)

Semi-desert, foothills. Woodlands, openings, rocks, canyons. Spring.
Hunter Canyon, Utah, May 3, 2005.

Green then yellow then buff winged seed pods (samaras) follow the profusion of yellow flowers.

Fraxinus anomala (Single Leaf Ash)
Oleaceae (Olive Family)

Semi-desert, foothills. Woodlands, openings, rocks, canyons. Spring.
Canyonlands National Park, Utah, November 1, 2005.

Fall colors are golden yellows.

 

Fraxinus anomala (Single Leaf Ash)
Oleaceae (Olive Family)

Semi-desert, foothills. Woodlands, openings, rocks, canyons. Spring.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, March 14, 2008.

Single Leaf Ash is deciduous and is easily recognized in the winter by its dark bark, stubby twigs, and vertical growth pattern.

Fraxinus anomala (Single Leaf Ash)
Oleaceae (Olive Family)

Semi-desert, foothills. Woodlands, openings, rocks, canyons. Spring.
Negro Bill Canyon, Utah, April 14, 2008.

Bark on a mature Single Leaf Ash is dark gray and flaky.

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