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Pictured: Fraxinus anomala — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Oleaceae family

Singleleaf Ash (var. anomala) Fraxinus anomala var. anomala variety

Native

Singleleaf Ash (var. anomala) is a perennial tree native to the lower 48 states. A keystone plant for native insects and the food web.

More about this plant

Fraxinus anomala is a species of ash tree known by the common name single-leaf ash. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in a number of habitats including desert scrub and chaparral. It is unusual in the genus in that some specimens have simple leaves instead of the pinnate leaves more characteristic of the group. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 6 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Tree layer (canopy / understory) — Sits in the tree of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~149 caterpillar species

Fraxinus supports ~149 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is an exceptional genus.

Recorded feeding on Fraxinus in North America, including:

Abagrotis alcandola · owlet moth Abagrotis alternata · Greater Red Dart Achatia distincta · Distinct Quaker Acrobasis caryivorella · Hickory Shoot Moth Acronicta americana · American Dagger Moth Acronicta impleta · Yellow-Haired Dagger
+ 8 more species →
Acronicta radcliffei · Radcliffe's Dagger Moth Adita chionanthi · owlet moth Alsophila pometaria · Fall Cankerworm Amorbia humerosana · White-Lined Leafroller Amphipyra glabella · Smooth Amphipyra Amphipyra pyramidoides · Copper Underwing Anacamptodes ephyraria · Pale-Winged Gray Anavitrinella pampinaria · Common Gray
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (11) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[09] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[10] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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PlantKey’s data is open under CC BY-SA 4.0 — free to reuse and adapt, with attribution and the same licence. Photos keep their own per-image licence + credit (see Sources above).

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