Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)
Trees lining campus Mall, East Mall Way and West Mall Way
- Planted on Mall during 1980s to replace American elms removed because of nationwide epidemic of Dutch elm disease.
- One of Maine’s three species of ash (green, white, black), common in central Maine, valued for hard, tough wood. Uses include baseball bats, hockey sticks, furniture and pulp.
- Highly susceptible to emerald ash borer, an insect native to Asia, discovered in the U.S. in 2002, and now killing ash trees in large quantities throughout the country. Before the borer infestation, species considered a good shade tree, hence the Mall plantings.
- Though not yet in Maine, borer considered a threat to all Maine ash trees, including the black ash, a species highly valued for Native American basketmaking.