Fraxinus ornus Obelisk - Manna ash

Fraxinus ornus Obelisk is a selection of the Flowering Ash or Manna Ash prized for its magnificent spring flowering and more slender habit than the species. Often used in avenues, this deciduous tree with moderate growth also offers beautiful autumn colours, both in its fruits and foliage. Resistant to cold and drought, and comfortable in limestone soils, it is an excellent candidate for a large informal hedge.

The Flowering Ash, called Manna Ash or European Ash, is a tree of the olive family, just like the olive tree and lilac. It is native to southern Europe and western Asia. Its natural habitat is to more or less arid limestone hills. Its cream-white flowering is fragrant and nectar-rich.
The cultivar 'Paus Johannus Paulus II' Obelisk is a recent selection from the Bonte Hoek Nursery located in Glimmen, Netherlands. The tree has a columnar habit during its early years, with a very vertical leading shoot. Then its crown branches out and slightly widens over time. Its trunk is covered with smooth, brown-grey bark. This fast-growing ash tree reaches a height of 8 to 11 m and a spread of 4 to 5 m. The deciduous foliage consists of leaves measuring 20 to 30 cm long, composed of 5 to 9 leaflets measuring 5 to 10 cm long and 2 to 4 cm wide. These fairly dark green, slightly glossy leaflets, have a finely toothed and wavy edge. Depending on the climate, they turn yellow or even orange, pinkish-purple in autumn. The large buds of the flowering ash are dark. The flowering is spectacular in Obelisk in May. It takes the form of numerous upright, feathery, fragrant, well-filled panicles, measuring 10 to 20 cm long. Each flower, no more than 5-6 mm long, has 4 cream-white petals. After pollination, clusters of fruits called samaras measuring 2 to 4.5 cm long are formed. Their colour ranges from coppery red to light brown and they provide an additional ornament at the end of the season.

The name "manna ash" comes from the fact that the sweet, syrupy sap of this tree can be harvested after cutting the bark. Called "apothecary's manna", it is still used in phytotherapy for its purgative and diuretic properties.

Hardy and undemanding, the Obelisk flowering ash is a small ornamental tree that is truly content with very little. In a free form, its slender habit and wonderful spring flowering make it an extremely decorative subject. This small tree will fit well in a grove, in a large shrub hedge, or as a standalone specimen in a medium to large garden. As it tolerates pruning well, regrowing from its base, it is quite possible to limit its development in a hedge. It will blend well with the bee tree, strawberry trees, sea buckthorns, Russian olive, or even Cornelian cherry, large shrubs or small trees useful for biodiversity and just as undemanding.