D14: Manna Ash, Fraxinus ornus

Originating in southern Europe and Asia Minor, it was introduced to horticulture before 1700. It gets its name from a sugary sap extracted by cutting the bark: the sugar, mannose getting its name from the extract.

The tree rows to 25 m, with an open hemispherical crown with sinuous branches. It is commonly grafted not the stock of common ash. The leaves are large and pinnate. The scented flowers hang in dense, creamy panicles in May and are and pollinated by insects.