Identity
Category :
Arbre remarquable
Latin name :
Fraxinus angustifolia
French name :
Frêne à feuilles étroites
Dutch name :
Smalbladige es
English name :
Narrow-leaved ash
Family :
Oleaceae
Height :
29 m
Targeted height :
This species can grow up to 15–30 m
Diameter of the crown :
16 m
Trunk circumference :
258 cm
Expected circumference :
300 cm
Expected longevity :
Can live for 250 years
Origin / Indigenous
Southern Europe, northern Africa, western Asia
Favorite soil :
Does not matter, as long as it is damp
Favorite climate
Mediterranean
Usefulness and services of the tree :
Enhances the landscape :
+++
Enhances the biodiversity :
++
Provide oxygen :
+
Purify the air :
+++++++++
Filter the water :
-
Prevents flooding :
Stores carbon :
+
Softens the climate :
+
Limits soil erosion :
Does good, heals :
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Features and characters of the individual
This narrow-leaved ash grows in the public garden of La Grotte de Notre Dame de Lourdes in Jette. The tree’s silhouette is curious. Its grey/brown, deeply fluted bark attracts attention. At 50 cm from the ground, its huge trunk suddenly swells – evidence of where it was grafted years ago. Unless, perhaps, these swells are relics of its healing past? In many ancient cultures, ash trees are sacred and mythical, with the power to absorb fevers and the pain of the sick. Yggdrasil, the cosmic ash tree in Scandinavian mythology, could even cure snake venom. In this garden, visitors and pilgrims come to see the grotto and the other symbols of Catholicism. Sadly they rarely come to visit this ash. On the other hand, even today, ash is a species that continues to be recognised for its numerous medicinal properties, particularly its analgesic and febrifuge effects.
