Even in ancient times, ash was attributed to the possession of magical powers. That is why its wood was often used in the process of making all kinds of amulets and amulets. According to an ancient legend, the ash tree owes its name to its lush and openwork crown, which is able to easily pass the sun's rays through itself.
Description of the tree
Due to the fact that the ash tree looks very similar to other deciduous trees, it is often confused with the deciduous ash-leaved maple. The arrangement of leaves on the stems of these trees is very similar. However, despite the outward resemblance, the trees belong to different families: ash - to olive, and maple - to sapinda.
As mentioned above, ash is a relative of the olive family. This family is widely distributed in the central and southern regions of Russia. However, in the Caucasus, you can find ash, which grows in the form of a shrub. Basically, it grows like an ordinary deciduous tree. Its height can reach 10 m and above.
The foliage of the ash tree is stalked and can grow up to 30 centimeters inlength. Trees bloom in late spring and remain green until October, and sometimes even until November.
With the end of summer, the tree throws out seeds. They are a bright green lionfish that grows among the leaves and fuses into small panicles. With the advent of cold weather, instead of green, the seeds turn brown, and then, falling off, they become an excellent food for birds. Once on damp soil, the lionfish can grow into a new tree in a few years.
The root system of the ash tree is very wide, the main stem is missing. Sometimes near the old tree you can see new shoots - these are root processes. They can grow even beyond the crown of the tree. Ash trees begin to bloom in early spring. Its flowers look like purple bells. Ash is pollinated by insects or wind.
Geography of distribution
Due to the fact that ash is not very picky about external conditions, it is common in various regions of the country. However, to a greater extent, he prefers the Mediterranean, Caucasian and Crimean lands due to the fact that there is moist and fertile soil.
In Russia, he often chooses the middle climatic zone as a place of growth. Most of the ash trees can be seen in the forest or river valley. Shrub ash is found in the southern territories of the country.
Using wood
Even in ancient times, ash wood was used in everyday life, as it has a special and unique texture. She was usedfor the manufacture of rocker arms, wheels for carts, sledges and other household items that had to be wear-resistant. Due to its properties, ash wood is actively used in the manufacture of equipment for athletes (skis, bars). Ash oars are strong, water resistant and durable.
Because ash wood contains vitamins and minerals, properly processed raw materials are also in demand in medicine. The fruits, bark and leaves of the tree have medicinal properties.
Wood characteristic
Ash hardwood is similar in properties to oak wood. However, it is lighter, and there are no pronounced core rays in it. Without fail, before use, the wood is subjected to a thorough antiseptic treatment. The reason for this is the fragility of wood in wet conditions, since moisture causes wormholes to appear on it.
Ash wood is highly valued for its strength and flexibility. From thin ash boards, bent parts and products are manufactured. The wood is very resistant to heavy impacts, it is very difficult to cut, and in the open, dry air, it can crack and rot if left untreated. After steaming, the wood bends very well, and after bleaching it acquires an unusual grayish tint.
The texture of ash wood is beautiful and has a brownish-yellow color. Due to the high physical and mechanicalproperties, the range of application of ash is very wide. It is used to make bent and carved furniture, propellers for light aircraft, parquet boards and railings, sides for car bodies, window frames, butts for weapons, bows, both sports and hunting, tennis rackets and more.
Wood structure
Ash is classified as a sound ring-vascular tree species. Due to the fact that late and early wood of a tree differ in appearance, each annual layer is clearly visible on any section. On transverse sections in the zone of the late annual layer, each small vessel is clearly visible. It looks like a separate bright spot or a short winding dash, which is located near the outer border of a wide annual layer. The core of the ash tree has a light brown color. The sapwood of the tree is wide, yellowish-white. It gradually moves into the core. The rays of the core can be seen only by making a strictly radial cut. They look like small shiny dashes and dots.
The texture of ash is determined by the width of the annual layers, the difference in the color of early and late wood, as well as the color of sapwood and heartwood. All this can be seen by making a longitudinal section of a tree trunk. The structure of the wood is also formed by cut vessels in the late and early wood zones. Only the rays of the core do not affect the texture of the wood. A photo of ash wood is presented above.
Ash Density
The density of this wood is medium. It is classified as a heavy and hard wood. Ash woodhas a very high elasticity. It is durable and tough. The surface treatment of wood is quite simple, since it is very well impregnated with all kinds of stains. If the wood is not externally treated, it will not be sufficiently resistant to environmental influences and will deteriorate very quickly as a result of contact with the soil.
The density of ash wood is 680 kg/m3. It is characterized by a significant uneven density: late wood is almost 2-3 times denser than early wood.
