Narrow-leaved ash
Fraxinus angustifolia
Family · Oleaceae · Harmless
The compound-leaved tree that follows rivers across the country and shades wet pastures. In winter it is known by its black buds, which no other native tree has.
Where it grows
Streams and ditches · Fields and pasture · Oak woods
Also known asash
In flower
In fruit
How to tell it
A leaf divided into several narrow toothed leaflets, opposite along an axis. Black velvety buds in winter. Winged fruits in bunches that stay on after leaf fall.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
Flexible tough timber, used for tool handles, cart bodies and sieve rims. The leaves were winter fodder throughout the mountains, cut in branches and dried.