Fraxinus lanuginosa (Japanese ash; Japanese: ã¢ãªãÂÂ㢠Aodamo) is a species of ash native to Japan and to the Primorye region of eastern Russia.
Fraxinus lanuginosa is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 10âÂÂ15 m tall with a trunk up to 50 cm diameter. The bark is smooth, dark grey. The buds are pale pinkish-brown to grey-brown, with a dense covering of short grey hairs. The leaves are in opposite pairs, pinnate, 10âÂÂ15 cm long, with 3âÂÂ7 leaflets; the leaflets are broad ovoid, 4âÂÂ7 cm long and 2âÂÂ4 cm broad, downy at the base on the underside, with a finely serrated margin, and short indistinct petiolules. The flowers are produced in panicles after the new leaves appear in late spring, each flower with four slender creamy white petals 5âÂÂ7 mm long; they are pollinated by insects. The fruit is a slender samara 2âÂÂ4 cm long and 3âÂÂ5 mm broad, reddish, ripening brown.
In the population of F. lanuginosa native to central Hokkaidà Â, northern Japan, "hermaphrodites and males commonly coexist in populations of the species. Hermaphrodites and males have identical flowering phenologies and pollen morphologies".
It is closely related to Fraxinus ornus from Europe and southwest Asia, sharing similar flower characters.
The wood is strong and hard, with a tenacity that allows it to be bent into curves, such as for making tennis rackets and skis. Its wood is also used in the making of baseball bats and electric guitars.