Velvet ash facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Velvet ash |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Fraxinus
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| Species: |
velutina
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| Natural range of Fraxinus velutina | |
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| Close-up of natural range of Fraxinus velutina | |
Fraxinus velutina, also known as the velvet ash, Arizona ash, or Modesto ash, is a type of ash tree. It grows naturally in the southwestern part of North America. You can find it in the United States, from southern California all the way to Texas. It also grows in Mexico, from northern Baja California to Coahuila and Nuevo León.
What Does a Velvet Ash Tree Look Like?
The velvet ash is a small deciduous tree. This means it loses its leaves every year. It can grow up to 10 meters (about 33 feet) tall. Its trunk can be as wide as 30 centimeters (about 12 inches).
The bark of the velvet ash is rough and gray-brown. It has cracks, or fissures, in it. The new shoots, or young branches, feel soft and velvety.
The leaves are usually 10 to 25 centimeters (4 to 10 inches) long. Each leaf is made up of smaller leaflets. There are usually five or seven leaflets, but sometimes only three. These leaflets are at least 4 centimeters (1.5 inches) long. Their edges can be smooth or have small teeth.
The flowers grow in small groups in early spring. This tree is dioecious. This means that male flowers and female flowers grow on different trees. The fruit is a samara, which is a special type of winged seed. It is 1.5 to 3 centimeters (0.6 to 1.2 inches) long. The wing helps the seed fly away in the wind.
Where Does the Velvet Ash Tree Grow?
In Arizona, you can find the velvet ash mainly around the Mogollon Rim. It grows from the Grand Canyon area in southern Utah and Nevada. It also extends to the White Mountains (Arizona) in the central-east part of Arizona. From there, it reaches into western New Mexico.
The tree also grows along the Rio Grande valley, going south into trans-Pecos Texas. In Arizona and northern Sonora (Mexico), it lives in special mountain areas called "sky islands." These are like isolated mountains in a desert.
You can find it in the Sonoran Desert mountains in central-southern Arizona. It also grows in the desert mountains south into northern Sonora. Some populations are found further east in the Chihuahuan Desert regions of Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Nuevo León in Mexico.
In California, the velvet ash grows in the southern Sierra Nevada. It is also found in the Mojave and Colorado Deserts. It lives in the California chaparral and woodlands area. Some groups of these trees also grow in Baja California, Mexico.
See also
In Spanish: Fraxinus velutina para niños
