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Oleaceae family

Chihuahuan Ash Fraxinus papillosa

Native

Chihuahuan Ash is a perennial tree native to the lower 48 states. It grows to 20 ft. A keystone plant for native insects and the food web.

More about this plant

Fraxinus papillosa, or the Chihuahuan ash, is a species of flowering plant in the family Oleaceae, native to the deserts of Mexico and the southwestern United States. A small tree, it usually is found growing in canyon bottoms and on north-facing slopes. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 8 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
TRY Plant Trait Database (CC BY 4.0) — Height
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Height
20 ft
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Sub-canopy / understory layer — Sits in the understory 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 (13) 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] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[10] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[11] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[12] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
[13] County range — GBIF Open Data — open-licensed occurrences (CC0/CC-BY) → county
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