[Illustration: WHITE ASH (Twig and fruit, one-half natural size; leaf, one-third natural size)] The compound opposite LEAVES are generally straight, 8 to 12 inches long, with 5 to 9 (usually 7) sharp pointed leaflets, dark green above and paler and whitish beneath. The male and female FLOWERS appear on separate trees, the male in dense reddish-purple clusters and the female in more open branches. The FRUIT is a samara, 1 to 1½ inches long, resembling the blade of a canoe paddle in outline, with the smooth, terete body at the handle end. The fruit matures in late summer and is distributed effectively by the winds. The WOOD of white ash is extremely valuable because of its toughness and elasticity. It is preferred for small tool handles, athletic equipment, and agricultural implements, and is used extensively for furniture and interior finish. The ashes comprise the only group of trees in eastern America that have opposite, pinnately compound leaves with 5 or more leaflets. This fact provides a ready means of identifying the group. There are at least seven other species of ash in Texas. GREEN ASH Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh. Green ash is a common tree along streams as far west as the Guadalupe River. It attains a height of 50 feet or more, has spreading branches and a trunk ranging up to 2 feet in diameter. The TWIGS are smooth, round, and ashy gray, marked by pale lenticels and rusty bud-scales. [Illustration: GREEN ASH (Fruit, two-thirds natural size; leaf, one-third natural size; twig, three-fourths natural size)] The BARK is ½ inch or more thick; brown, tinged with red, and slightly furrowed or ridged. The LEAVES are opposite compound, 10 to 12 inches long, with 5 to 9 pointed leaflets slightly toothed on the margin. They differ from those of white ash in being lustrous green on both sides or slightly paler beneath. The terminal leaflet is frequently askew from the main axis of the rachis. The small, male and female FLOWERS occur on separate trees. The FRUIT is flat, winged, 1 to 1½ inches long, ¼ to ⅓ inch wide, the wing portion extending well down past the middle of the terete, many-rayed body. The wing is sometimes square or slightly notched at the outer end. The WOOD is heavy, hard, rather strong, brittle, and coarse-grained. It is used for the same purposes as white ash but is not as desirable. SWAMP PRIVET (Common Adelia) Forestiera acuminata (Michx.) Poir. Swamp privet or forestiera is found along river banks, lakes, and standing water over eastern Texas to the Colorado River. It is usually a large shrub but often becomes a small tree, less than 30 feet high, with a short trunk usually less than 8 inches in diameter. Its youngest branches are slender, somewhat hairy, slightly angular, and vary in color from yellowish-green to brown. They become darker and more rounded the second season.