Fraxinus dimorpha

Cultivation Details

Fraxinus dimorpha is a xerophytic plant that prefers arid and semi-arid, cool temperate and Mediterranean climates with a temperature range between -20 to 35°c. The species tolerates also the very hot and dry climate of the mountains bordering the Sahara^[1]. The plant grows in the wild on limestone or siliceous rocks of low and medium mountains; it prefers open and sunny habitats but can be found in mid-shaded habitats^[1]. In Morocco, Fraxinus dimorpha is managed traditionally as an important livelihood species. One stand of ash tree of the Aït M’Hamed Commune is a public forest managed by State foresters, but where access to livestock browsing and some cutting is informally allowed. Tree exploitation and management of the species in the area of the High Atlas follows a very precise sequence. It encompasses, on single living trees, overlapping cutting cycles of four years in order to produce fodder foliage, associated with eight-year cycles for the purpose of producing poles. Sometimes, particularly vigorous poles are conserved in order to produce beams in about 30-year cycles. The traditional, sustainable forest management system for this species is poorly recognised by forest and agriculture authorities in Morocco, who consider any cutting of living wood by local people as a legal offence^[1].