Here are some shots from February this year outside a Santa Monica courthouse (had to pay fine for no front plate, sigh...). This is zone 10. Some online friends have helped me to determine that it's probably an ash. It has opposite leaves that look like ash, but I'd really like to figure out the exact species. The pinstripes up the larger limbs are throwing me off a bit, though I find them quite pretty. Thanks for any help.
Count the leaflets, are there nine? Then I would agree and everything else fits an Ash.. http://www.anr.msu.edu/robertsd/ash/ashtree_id.html
Unfortunately the Ashes of The Southwest are completely different to those in the Midwest and Eastern US. Ashes of western and southwestern North America * Fraxinus anomala Single-leaf Ash * Fraxinus berlandieriana Rio Grande Ash * Fraxinus cuspidata Fragrant Ash * Fraxinus dipetala California Ash or Two-petal Ash * Fraxinus dubia * Fraxinus gooddingii Goodding's Ash * Fraxinus greggii Gregg's Ash * Fraxinus latifolia Oregon Ash * Fraxinus lowellii Lowell Ash * Fraxinus papillosa Chihuahua Ash * Fraxinus purpusii * Fraxinus rufescens * Fraxinus texensis Mountain Ash or Texas Ash * Fraxinus uhdei Shamel Ash or Tropical Ash * Fraxinus velutina Velvet Ash http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_tree
Thanks, saltcedar. I think I've looked up all of those now, but just can't find anything that resembles the look of my tree's limbs. I even looked into some options from other regions, and started trying to locate backwards, by scouring the net specifically for southern California and LA ash trees, and running through those results. I need an ash expert.
No expert but you may have to ignore those pinstripes. It most likely indicates a tree transitioning from smooth juvenile bark to furrowed mature bark. Fraxinus uhdei, Shamel Ash seems a likely suspect to me. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tony_rodd/1226449985/sizes/o/ http://www.geographylists.com/fraxinus_uhdei.jpg http://www.gardeninginarizona.com/Plants/Oleaceae/big/Fraxinus_uhdei2.html
Thanks, saltcedar. I think you're right about the large limbs simply being in transition. Maybe I'll have to swing by next time I'm in that area and see if they've changed at all in the last many months. Your decision seems a good candidate, and until I learn more, I'll have to go with it, with the qualifier that it's the best guess so far. Thanks!
Thanks, David. I'll investigate F. uhdei. I wonder if there's a definitive "ash" book. If not, who exactly keeps all of the really detailed info about every tree? Is there a repository somewhere of all tree knowledge gathered thus far? I imagine it would be enormous.
