BLUE ASH (Fraxinus quadrangulata, Michx.). Conceals its bluing in its inner bark. Crush a bit of it in water and the dye appears. But this is not always a convenient way to identify a tree. There is a simpler and more satisfactory way. Take a look at the twigs. Are they 4-sided toward the tips? Quadrangulata means 4-angled. This obvious trait and the perfect flowers set the blue ash apart from all the others. The
leaves and seeds might easily be confused with those of the black ash if form alone were considered. But the foliage mass 91 a blue ash is yellow green, much lighter in color than that of its sombre cousin of the swamps.