Biltmore Ash   Jess Riddle
  Nov 22, 2006 12:54 PST 

Will,

Field guides and experts point to fruits typical of white ash, leaves
with densely pubescent lower surfaces, and leaf scars only slightly
notched by lateral buds as diagnostic features of Biltmore ash.

Based on what I've seen in the field: The fruit body is plump and
essentially round in cross section, and the wing extends no more than
1/3 of the way down the seed body. The twigs are usually velvety
pubescent when young, and fairly large for ash twigs, probably a
little under 1cm diameter. At most sites, the lateral buds are small,
rich brown in color, and generally sit on top of the leaf scar, but
cut an almost right angle notch one to two millimeters into the leaf
scar; nothing like the deep "u" of white ash higher in the mountains.
The bark is blocky with many horizontal brakes, but still has a
vaguely interlaced pattern. The ridges are somewhat rounded, so the
bark doesn't have that crisp, neat ridges and interlaced pattern that
white and green ash sometimes obtain. I haven't looked at the
leaflets much, but they are generally round and downy on the underside
when young.

I've seen Biltmore ash at Panther Creek, Station Cove, and Tamassee
Knob in the Brevard Fault Zone; all Wadakoe Mountain in South
Carolina; in gorges at Savage Gulf and Fall Creek Falls in the
Cumberland Plateau; and they grow on lower Big Creek and Dry Branch
near the Pigeon River Gorge in North Carolina. Elevations of these
sites range from 700' at Panther Creek to 2500' at Dry Branch. Most
sites have exceptionally productive second growth hardwood forests,
but appear drier than mixed mesophytic forest with hickories instead
of buckeye and basswood. Lower Big Creek and the Cumberland Plateau
sites are at the rich end with well developed mixed mesophytic
forests. The distribution of these ashes overlaps with that of
typical white ash on lower Big Creek. I do not know if they both grow
in any one cove, but they are growing similar habitats in the area and
are still distinct. That co-occurrence combined with distinct twig,
bark, and habitat characteristics makes them easily distinct from both
typical white ash and green ash.

Jess Riddle