Fraxinus americana grows fast and tall, reaching 60 to 90 feet with ease and occasionally stretching to 120 — the largest of the native ashes. Its compound leaves turn yellow to purple in fall depending on the individual tree, a variable that makes each specimen something of a seasonal surprise. In spring, male and female flowers appear on separate trees; only females produce the winged seeds that helicopter down in autumn. The wood is exceptionally tough and elastic, prized for tool handles, oars, hockey sticks, and — most famously — the baseball bats made by Louisville Slugger. Native to eastern North America and Mexico, it adapts to a wide range of soils and sun exposures with little complaint.

For all its virtues, White Ash now carries a heavy caveat. The emerald ash borer, an Asian beetle established in North America since 2002, kills ash trees within three to five years of infestation and has already eliminated millions of trees across the northeastern United States. Planting new ash trees in affected regions is no longer recommended by most extension services. In areas not yet reached by the borer, and with active management, existing White Ash trees remain magnificent — street trees, shade trees, native garden anchors. But the ecological story of this species is one of the more sobering in contemporary American forestry.