ASH (Fraxinus excelsior)

KEY IDENTIFYING FEATURES IN SUMMER

1. Bunches of hanging bright-green "keys"
2. Leaves made up of oval leaflets in opposite pairs.
3. Leaves are arranged in opposites on the branch.
4. Black terminal buds can still be seen.
5. An open & airy canopy. Look for the light.

SIMILAR SPECIES IN SUMMER

It can be easy to mistake the Ash for these other common species...

ROWAN (Sorbus aucuparia)

Otherwise known as Mountain Ash. The leaves are also made up of opposite pairs of leaflets. However, these are smaller and have serrated edges. Also, rowan's branches are arranged in alternates rather than opposites.

ELDER (Sambucus nigra)

Again, this tree has leaves made up of leaflets in opposite pairs. It also has it's branches arranged in opposite pairs like ash. However, it's a much smaller, shrubby tree and in summer will be either flowering with large clusters of white flowers or will be developing bunches of small, round berries. The overall character of the tree is very different compared to ash.