Fraxinus are threatened with extinction. North American species are under attack by an invasive East Asian beetle. In Europe, native ash is being decimate by a fungus, also apparently from the East. Despite dire and increasingly ominous warnings, most people seem entirely oblivious to these threats. On both sides of the Atlantic, the various species of ash have long been valued as both ornamental and timber trees. The European Ash, Fraxinus excelsior, is also steeped in mythology. It provided the wood for the spear hafts of Beowulf and King Arthur. Robin Hood and Little John dueled with quarter staves of F. excelsior--movies invariably depict such incorrectly. The resilient and shock-absorbing wood made it ideal for lances in the days of chivalry. Less militaristically, ash provided poles to grow hop vines on and for walking sticks. All this despite that most ash are dioecious--they may change sex with age from male and hermaphrodite to female. The winged seeds, or samura, in times gone by were recommended for flatulence; even pickled.

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