Fraxinus ornus Mecsek - Manna ash

Fraxinus ornus 'Mecsek' is a Flowering Ash or Manna Ash grafted on a stem, interesting for its small size and its "ball" crown. Desirable characteristics for decorating a small garden. Often used in rows, this small deciduous tree also offers honey-scented spring flowering and beautiful autumn colours. Resistant to cold and drought, comfortable in limestone soils, this ash tree is easy to grow. It is particularly suitable for Mediterranean climates.

The Flowering Ash, also known as Manne Ash or European Manna Ash, is a tree from the olive family, just like the olive tree and lilac. It is native to southern Europe and western Asia. Its habitat is arid limestone hills. Its cream-white flowering is fragrant and nectar-rich.
The cultivar 'Mecsek' was discovered in 1980 in the Mecsek mountain range in Hungary. The tree has a taller or shorter grafting stock that will become its trunk. It is covered with a smooth, grey bark that becomes anthracite grey over time. Its grafted crown is almost spherical, slightly flattened. Eventually, it can reach a span of 3 to 4 metres. The deciduous foliage consists of leaves measuring 20 to 30 cm long, composed of 5 to 9 leaflets, each measuring 5 to 10 cm long and 2 to 4 cm wide. These fairly dark green and 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 and ashy in colour. Flowering occurs in May, at the tips of the branches, on the foliage. It takes the form of upright, feathery, well-filled, fragrant panicles measuring 10 to 20 cm long. Each flower, which does not exceed 5-6 mm in length, has 4 cream-white petals. This variety bears little fruit. After pollination, a few clusters of fruits called samaras measuring 2 to 4.5 cm long are formed. Their colour varies from coppery red to light brown and provides an additional ornamentation at the end of the season.

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

The 'Mecsek' flowering ash is a small tree with a clean appearance that thrives with very little care. As a solitary specimen, its "ball" shape and fragrant spring flowering make it an ornamental subject. This small tree will find its place in gardens of all sizes, especially as a shade tree near a terrace. Two trees can also be planted to frame the entrance of the garden or placed in the centre of a rounded flower bed. In this use, spring bulbs, ground cover roses, or lavender, for example, can be planted at its base.