{"id":12046,"date":"2013-05-02T17:31:55","date_gmt":"2013-05-02T23:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/?page_id=12046"},"modified":"2019-12-19T22:44:12","modified_gmt":"2019-12-20T03:44:12","slug":"ash-wood-black-white-and-everything-in-between","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/wood-articles\/ash-wood-black-white-and-everything-in-between\/","title":{"rendered":"Ash Wood: Black, White, and Everything in Between"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Among the most common species of ash that are seen commercially, some basic divisions can be made; the first is between White Ash (Fraxinus americana)<\/i><\/a> and Black Ash<\/a> (Fraxinus nigra)<\/a>. <\/i>White Ash tends to have a lighter heartwood color, and wider spaced growth rings. By contrast, the heartwood color of Black Ash tends to be slightly darker, and the growth rings are typically much closer together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"White<\/a>
White Ash (Fraxinus americana)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\"Black<\/a>
Black Ash (Fraxinus nigra)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"White<\/a>
White Ash (endgrain)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\"Black<\/a>
Black Ash (endgrain)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Additionally, White Ash tends to have winged parenchyma<\/a> connecting the outermost latewood pores, while this latewood connectivity is largely absent from Black Ash (see below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"White<\/a>
White Ash (endgrain 10x)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\"Black<\/a>
Black Ash (endgrain 10x)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Although Black Ash can be separated from White Ash on the basis of macroscopic anatomy, many other species of ash cannot, and they share the same traits as White Ash. These indistinguishable species include: European Ash <\/a>(Fraxinus excelsior)<\/a>,<\/i> Oregon Ash <\/a>(F. latifolia)<\/a>,<\/i> and Green Ash <\/a>(F. pennsylvanica)<\/a>. <\/i>In many instances, knowing the geographic source of the wood will help differentiate these species, (with the exception of Green Ash, which has a natural range that largely overlaps that of White Ash). One variant of ash is Olive Ash<\/a> (and its burl veneer), which does not refer to any specific species of ash, but instead is in reference to the darker, streaked heartwood found in some Ash trees, which tends to resemble the heartwood of olive trees in the Olea<\/i> genus<\/a>, and both genera are in the Oleace\u00e6 family. Far and away, most commercial Olive Ash occurs as European Ash (Fraxinus excelsior),<\/i> and is typically imported from Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Olive<\/a>
Olive Ash (sealed)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\"Olive<\/a>
Olive Ash (burl)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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