Tree ID

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Paul Brown

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Tree ID
« on: July 21, 2018, 02:32:49 PM »
I have a small tree on a property just north of Montpellier, France, that I cannot identify.  It is about 6 meters high, very irregular (and not especially pretty) shape that in June had small branches with two unusual features: what look like pea-sized dried-up berries together with what look like ash 'wings'.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.  Photo attached (I hope).

Thanks in advance...

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oron peri

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Re: Tree ID
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2018, 06:44:44 AM »
Hello Paul,

The tree is a Fraxinus, as the photo is out of focus difficult to say which as i can not see if the margins of the leaf is serrated or not.
The brown things that look like fruits are actualy Galls caused by the Ash flower gall mite; Eriophyes fraxinivorus
Garden Designer, Bulb man, Botanical tours guide.
Living and gardening in Tivon, Lower Galilee region, North Israel.
Min temp 5c Max 42c, around 450mm rain.

Paul Brown

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Re: Tree ID
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2018, 08:24:28 AM »
Thank you, Orםn.  I attach 2 new photos.  The tree appears to be dying (with new ground sprouts).  The leaves are very finely serrated.  Any new thoughts about the ash species?  And is the fungus what is killing the tree (any treatment possible?).
« Last Edit: August 11, 2018, 08:41:54 AM by oron peri »

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Alisdair

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Re: Tree ID
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2018, 09:01:16 AM »
I've seen internet reports that heavy attacks by gall mites can dry out young shrubs and trees, leading to their death, but I guess that would have to be a pretty heavy attack. If it's just cosmetic, the simplest thing would be just to live with it. Otherwise, you'd have to keep spraying with a mite killer or general systemic insecticide from bud break then every few weeks through successive generations.
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

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oron peri

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Re: Tree ID
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2018, 09:02:19 AM »
Difficult to decide from the juvenile leaves but the shape is more sutible for Fraxinus ornus. It looks as if it suffers from lack of water, than it is much more vunerable to fungus and other insectes that can enter its trunk. I would cut it all the tree leaving one of the good, new shoots to start it again but any way it needs much more water in summer. 
Garden Designer, Bulb man, Botanical tours guide.
Living and gardening in Tivon, Lower Galilee region, North Israel.
Min temp 5c Max 42c, around 450mm rain.

Paul Brown

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Re: Tree ID
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2018, 10:43:30 AM »
Thank you both for your replies.  I think Fraxinus ornus is probably correct.  I will water it mightily and see how it looks next year.  If poor, I will cut it down and go with the new sprouts, or replace it with a different tree species (or not!).

paul

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MikeHardman

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Re: Tree ID
« Reply #6 on: August 25, 2018, 07:35:19 AM »
Perhaps too late - I see the precious post was 2 weeks ago...

But don't 'water it mightily'. Trees stressed by drought can recover if watered carefully. But they can be killed if given too much water too quickly.

An example: In the southeast of England in 1976, great numbers of mature beech trees suffered badly in the severest drought in decades. It was followed by heavy rains, and it appears that it was the excessive water that finished them off.

To confirm it is F. ornus, since you have seed, you should have seen fluffy-tassley white flowers in spring.

That amount of suckering makes me suspect damage to the trunk, possibly low-down.
Are there signs of damage from strimmer/brushscutter?, other obvious signs of damage, or less obvious damage such as borings of ash bark beetle (Hylesinus varius) under flakes of bark? [https://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=2105017]

Mike
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England