Name taken from Olea the Olive. Flowers regular, generally small. Calyx with 4-5 divisions or sometimes o. Stamens 2. Leaves simple or pinnate, always opposite. Fruit a berry or samara. A family of trees and shrubs inhabiting the temperate and hot regions of the two worlds; but comprising no Alpine species.

Fraxinus L. Fraxinus Excelsior L. Ash

Flowers dioecious. Fruit a broadly-winged samara. Leaves with 9-15 opposite leaflets, appearing after the flowers.

This well-known tree is frequently seen at about 3000-3800 feet in Switzerland, but never in large quantities.

Distribution

Temperate Europe, as far north as Scandinavia, Western Asia.