WINTER-BUDS.—Short, rather obtuse; bud-scales rounded on the back, 3 pairs, dark red-brown, somewhat pubescent.
BARK.—Twigs orange, rusty-pubescent, becoming brownish or grayish; on the trunk light gray tinged with red, irregularly divided into large, plate-like scales, often with the shaggy appearance of a Shagbark Hickory.
WOOD.—Heavy, hard, close-grained, brittle, light yellow streaked with brown, with thick, light yellow sapwood.
DISTRIBUTION.—Occasionally in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula. Nowhere abundant.
HABITAT.—Prefers rich, limestone hills, but grows well in fertile bottom-lands.
NOTES.—Hardy and grows rapidly. A blue dye is made by macerating the inner bark in water.
Black Ash