Pumpkin Ash | Fourth and Gill Arboretum

Other Names:: Red Ash, Swell-butt Ash
Native to:: S. E. United States
Sidewalk Visibility:: Excellent
Public?: No
Diameter:
Conservation Status: critically-endangered
Description:: Pumpkin Ash are typically a swamp-loving species along the eastern coastal floodplains and the Mississippi river valley. To find one here is unusual. The tree's name comes from the its tendency to develop a pumpkin-like swollen trunk base (especially when in or near standing water). In almost every way this tree is similar to the more commonly distributed Green and White Ashes except the leaves and fruit (feather-shaped samaras) are—as the species name ‘profunda’ suggests—considerably larger. Critically endangered, the Pumpkin Ash (as well as all other American Ash species) is threatened by the emerald ash borer beetle. Most untreated ash trees in the region are dead or dying. This specimen is quite old and may have sprouted from the ground well before Fourth & Gill existed.
Notes:: The only pumpkin ash in the neighborhood.