What can European Ash wood be used for?

Fraxinus excelsior, known as European ash is a popular hardwood that has many uses. It can grow from 30-120 feet depending on species and produces small clustered purple flowers.

It grows throughout Europe and Asia and is often highly sought after for the creation of chairs, dining tables, doors, and other architectural features and wood flooring.

This is mainly due to its workability as it produces good results when being carved or worked with a machine.  It is also a very light/ medium brown color making it very attractive for use in tables or hardwood flooring especially. European ash is also favored as it glues stains and finished well all the attributes of a good hardwood for furniture or joinery. It is also fairly strong and when stained can be a cheaper alternative to oak furniture that still gives that ‘oak’ look (although they are quite close in price).

In the past European Ash was used in Boat and plane building, this was mainly due to it being strong, light while also a little elastic.

A much more unconventional use for European Ash trees is as a treatment for stomach aches! Many animals, both domestic and wild, like to eat the leaves and branches of the Ash tree for this reason; as they produce a substance like olive oil that can be used in the treatment of stomach disorders.

European Ash is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; however, here at PB H hardwoods, we do still recommend the PEFC™ or FSC® certified ash to our customers.