ring porous page


RING POROUS ASH

NOTE: unless otherwise specifically stated, all of the images shown on this
page are of 1/4" square end grain cross sections shown at 12X with the top
of the image towards the bark and the bottom towards the pith so that
earlywood is towards the bottom of the growth rings and latewood is towards the top

to see all species with links to their anatomy page go here: species links

general characteristics of ash end grain



AMERICAN WHITE ASH (also just WHITE ASH) / Fraxinus americana
Note the considerable variability of the characteristics, given that they are all ring porous with fat earlywood pores dropping quickly to small latewood pores and with varying degrees of confluence at the end of the latewood. These all have what I think of as the standard look for that species --- a thick band of large earlywood pores dropping sharply to smaller pores in the latewood, rays that are discernible at 10X, and obvious confluent parenchyma in the latewood.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
  • white ash / Fraxinus americana
  • white ash / Fraxinus americana
  • white ash / Fraxinus americana


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    These samples were known to have been cut from a tree of American white ash / Fraxinus americana but are designated as "olive grained" and you can clearly see that the wood has dark streaks, unlike the other pieces on this page.

       

         

       
    These two were identified as old growth American white ash / Fraxinus americana. On the first one the pore density is obviously high but on the second one not so much (but the vendor is reliable). Also I note on both of them that there is no obvious confluence in the latewood but I think that's more because of my fairly poor processing and not because it isn't really there.

       
    These two were identified as old growth American white ash / Fraxinus americana.



    BERLANDIER ASH / Fraxinus berlandierana

         
    These are all examples of a Fraxinus species that is semi ring porous and with very weak wavy discontinuous bands of confluent parenchyma joining the pores at the end of the latewood



    BLACK ASH / Fraxinus nigra

         
    black ash / Fraxinus nigra --- classic ring porous look with earlywood line of pores 2 to 3 pores thick and very weak wavy discontinuous bands of confluent parenchyma joining some pores at the end of the latewood

         



    CAROLINA ASH / Fraxinus caroliniana

       
    Carolina ash / Fraxinus caroliniana --- unusually weak earlywood pore line (but still obviously ring porous, not semi ring porous) and extremely weak wavy discontinuous bands of confluent parenchyma at the end of the latewood. Although it might not seem like it at first, these pics are well focused.



    EUROPEAN (OLIVE) ASH / Fraxinus excelsior

         
    Three samples of "olive" ash (a designation of European ash) / Fraxinus excelsior with slightly hard to call ring porous / semi ring porous look as the earlywood pore lines merge into the latewood and weak, but clearly visible, wavy discontinuous bands of confluent parenchyma joining the pores in the latewood



    GREEN ASH / Fraxinus pennsylvanica
    classic ring porous look with earlywood line of pores 2 to 3 pores thick and weak wavy discontinuous bands of confluent parenchyma joining the pores at the end of the latewood

       



    pumpkin ash / Southern swamp ash / Fraxinus profunda
    classic ring porous look and and fairly weak wavy discontinuous bands of confluent parenchyma joining the pores towards the end of the latewood.

       



    VELVET ASH / Fraxinus velutina velvet ash / Fraxinus velutina shows a clear line of earlywood pores becoming smaller before changing to very small pores in the latewood and with weak but multitudinous wavy discontinuous bands of confluent parenchyma joining the pores in the latewood.
         

       



    OTHER ASH SPECIES
       

       

       

       

       
    NOTE: all of these "Fraxinus uhdei" samples are unlike other Fraxinus species but they are all loosely consistent with the one on-line reliable reference I can find for the species so I think perhaps this is one of those cases where a species is categorized based on external botanical features with no regard for the fact that the internal wood anatomy bears little or no resemblance to other species in the assigned genus. The differences are (1) this species is semi ring porous and (2) the presence of banded / diffuse-in-aggregate parenchyma