Fraxinus excelsior / Ash Leaf

Fraxinus excelsior known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae.

Fraxinus excelsior is native to Europe from northern Spain to Russia, and from southern Scandinavia to northern Greece. It is also considered native in southwestern Asia from northern Turkey east to the Caucasus and Alborz mountains. The northernmost location is in the Trondheimsfjord region of Norway. The species is widely cultivated and reportedly naturalized in New Zealand and in scattered locales in the United States and Canada. It is native throughout the British Isles, particularly on limestone, as in northern Scotland, where the most northerly native ashwood in the British Isles occurs on limestone at Rassal Ashwood. It is widely planted elsewhere.