Black Ash Compound Leaf this Fall

Thinking about the 
Black Ash Compound Leaf.

Just sitting on a log watching the tree leaves falling around me.
I watch a compound leaf of a black ash falling from the top of the crown.
The large leaf with the smaller leaves turns slowly as it spins to the forest floor.

I had never really thought about it, but I always figured each little leaflet would fall, not the entire compound leaf. While I walked I pondered the idea, and yes it makes sense the entire compound leaf would fall. The leaf would disconnect at the branch, just like simple leaves.

Right and Wrong


see where this photo was taken


It would seem that early in the fall the entire compound leaf does fall, but later into the season the small leaflets that make up the compound leaf.  The picture above is the stem of the compound leaf still on the branch. It fact it was a little hard to pull the stem off.

We do not have many trees here in the north with compound leaves. I will have to pay more attention the next time I am walking in the forest in the fall.

What have you seen?  I saw a horsechestnut, what is that? while in Niagara I saw a big one, but it was still a month before the leaves would start to fall.

Ontario trees and shrubs with compound leaves. read more