Native Plant Database

Wasowski, Sally and Andy

Fraxinus velutina Torr.

Arizona ash, Desert ash, Velvet ash

Oleaceae (Olive Family)

USDA Symbol: frve2

USDA Native Status: Native to U.S.

This ash is a small to medium-sized, deciduous shade tree, usually no taller than 40 ft. in cultivation. Tree with open, rounded crown of spreading branches and leaflets quite variable in shape and hairiness. Spreading branches form a rounded crown. Bark is deeply furrowing into ridges. Pinnately compound foliage turns yellow in fall.

This variable species is the common ash in the Southwest, where it is planted as a shade and street tree. It is hardy in alkaline soils and fast-growing. In the desert, ash trees indicate a permanent underground water supply. The leaflets of different shapes are often covered with velvety hairs beneath, as the scientific and common names imply, but also may be hairless. Modesto Ash is a rapidly growing, cultivated variety, widely planted as a street tree in dry areas (including alkaline soils) in California and the Southwest.

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