THIS IS A DRAFT
The species account below is an early version, drafted around 2003. It has been provided here to aid understanding, but please be aware it may not fully tally with the up-to-date map and statistics shown below.
Fraxinus excelsior
Ash
Species Details
Ash is a very common native tree of woods, waste ground and hedges, particularly on damp base-rich soils in valley bottoms. It also forms almost pure woods on scree-slopes in the dales of the White Peak, and is an early coloniser of waste ground and abandoned quarries. It occurs throughout our area except for the high moors of the Dark and South West Peak. As an important component of the dale side vegetation of the White Peak, its status there has attracted much research (Merton 1970 & Scurfield 1959). The general consensus is that the woods there are not ancient but the result of relatively recent colonisation after a reduction in grazing pressure. As a common tree, it has lent itself to many local place names such as Ashbourne, Ashford and Ashwood Dale. It also figures in local legends such as the Sheldon duck. Here in 1610 a duck was seen to fly into an Ash tree but not to fly out again. This tree was thus known as the Duck Tree for nearly three centuries. When the tree was finally felled, the image of a duck was found in the grain of the wood.