ash

ash, in botany, any plant of the genus Fraxinus of the family Oleaceae (olive family), trees and shrubs mainly of north temperate regions. The ashes are characterized by small clusters of greenish flowers and by fruits with long "wings" to aid in wind dispersal. The most valuable of the species used for hardwood timber is the white ash (F. americana), ranging from Nova Scotia to Minnesota and Texas. Its strong, durable wood is used for sporting goods, furniture, tool handles, and oars. The bark of the blue ash (F. quadrangulata) yields a blue dye; the Mediterranean flowering ash (F. ornus) is the source of commercial manna. The name flowering ash is also applied to a shrubby species (F. cuspidata) of the California canyon chaparral and to the fringe tree (genus Chionanthus of the same family) of North America and China. The mountain ash and prickly ash are not true ashes. Ashes are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Scrophulariales, family Oleaceae.

ash, in chemistry, solid residue of combustion. The chemical composition of an ash depends on that of the substance burned. Wood ash contains metal carbonates (e.g., potassium carbonate) and oxides formed from metals originally compounded in the wood. Coal ash usually has a high content of minerals and is sometimes contaminated with rock; during combustion the mineral matter may become partially fused, forming cinders or clinker. Bone ash is largely made up of calcium phosphate. Seaweed ash (called kelp or varec) contains sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, and iodine that can be extracted. Fly ash is very fine ash produced during the combustion of many materials.

Any of several shrubs or trees of the genus Sorbus, in the rose family, native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are widely cultivated as ornamentals for their white flower clusters and bright-orange fruits. Most noteworthy are the handsome American mountain ash, or dogberry (S. americana), and European mountain ash (S. aucuparia), also called rowan, or quickbeam. The European species grows to 60 ft (18 m), twice as high as the American species.

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Hardy and fast-growing tree (Acer negundo), also called ash-leaved maple, of the maple family, native to the central and eastern U.S. Its compound leaves (rare among maples) consist of three, five, or seven coarsely toothed leaflets. The single seed is borne in a samara (dry, winged fruit). Because of its rapid growth and its drought resistance, it was widely planted for shade by early settlers in the prairie regions of the U.S. Maple syrup and sugar are sometimes obtained from the box elder. Its wood is used for crates, furniture, paper pulp, and charcoal.

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or ash cone

Deposit around a volcanic vent, formed by rock fragments or cinders that accumulate and gradually build a conical hill with a bowl-shaped crater at the top. Cinder cones develop from explosive eruptions of lavas and are often found along the flanks of shield (gently sloping) volcanoes. Lava flows may break out of the cone, or they may flow from under the cone through tunnels. Cinder cones are common in nearly all volcanic areas. Although they are composed of loose or only moderately consolidated cinder, many are surprisingly long-lasting, because rain falling on them sinks into the highly permeable cinders instead of running off down their slopes and eroding them.

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Any tree of the genus Fraxinus, in the olive family. The genus includes about 70 species of trees and shrubs found mostly in the Northern Hemisphere. The U.S. boasts 18 species of ash, 5 of which furnish most of the ash cut as lumber. Most important are the white ash (F. americana) and the green ash (F. pennsylvanica), which yield wood that is stiff, strong, and resilient, yet lightweight. This “white ash” is used for baseball bats, hockey sticks, paddles and oars, tennis and other racket frames, and the handles of agricultural tools. Black ash (F. nigra), blue ash (F. quadrangulata), and Oregon ash (F. latifolia) produce wood of comparable quality that is used for many more purposes, including furniture, interior paneling, and barrels.

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Ash may refer to:

Products of fire, incineration or combustion

• The solid remains of a fire
• Incinerator bottom ash, a form of ash produced in incineration facilities
• Volcanic ash, material ejected from a volcano
• Ash (analytical chemistry), the compounds that remain after a scientific sample is burned
• Fly ash and bottom ash, products of coal combustion
• Wood ash, products of wood combustion
• The remains of a cadaver after cremation

Trees

• Ash tree, any tree of the genus Fraxinus, or the wood from those trees
• Mountain Ash, any of several other trees
• Prickly Ash, any of several species of the genus Zanthoxylum

Science

• Soda ash, a common name for sodium carbonate
• Plasma ashing, a process in semiconductor manufacturing

Media and entertainment

• Ash (artist), French graffiti artist
• Ash (band), Northern Irish rock band
• Ash (ballet) by Peter Martins (1991)
• Ash (comic), Comic book about a superhero firefighter
• Ash (director), independent filmmaker
• ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat, a video game

Linguistics

• Æ, a letter used in Old English texts
• Near-open front unrounded vowel, the vowel sound represented by the æ symbol

Companies, organizations and schools

• Action on Smoking and Health, a lobbying group
• American School of the Hague, a school in the Netherlands
• American Society of Hematology, an American professional organization
• Mesa Airlines, ASH in ICAO code
• Nashua Municipal Airport, ASH in IATA code

Names

Surname

• Brandon Ash, American racing driver
• Brian Ash, American screenwriter
• Brian Ash (bibliographer), bibliographer
• Daniel Ash, British guitarist
• Ed Ash, American car engine constructor
• Eric Ash, British electrical engineer and former Rector of Imperial College
• Gord Ash, baseball manager
• Haruhiko Ash, singer
• Isaac Colton Ash, California politician
• John Ash (divine) (1724–1779), lexicographer and minister
• John Ash (writer) (1948 - ), a poet, writer and travel writer
• Leslie Ash, British actress
• Maie Ash, British stage actress (1888 -- 1923)
• Marvin Ash, pseudonym of the American jazz pianist Marvin Ashbaugh
• Mary Kay Ash, American businesswoman
• Meir Ash, one of several people including
• Rabbi Meir Eisenstadt
• Rabbi Meir Eisenstaedter
• Russell Ash, British writer
• Sam Ash, American businessman* Timothy Garton Ash, British academic historian and writer
• William Ash, Canadian-American pilot

Given name

• Aishwarya Rai, Indian actress
• Ash Atalla, television producer
• Ash Bowie, American indie musician
• Ash (director), Ashley Baron-Cohen, film director usually credited as "Ash"
• Ash (god), a hawk-god of the Sahara Desert in Egyptian mythology
• Ash (wrestler), a Canadian wrestler commonly known as "the Antihero" or "the Canadian Casanova"

Fictional characters

• Ash Williams, the hero of the Evil Dead film-series
• Ash Ketchum, the main character of the Pokémon anime
• Science Officer Ash, the science-officer of the Nostromo in the 1979 film Alien
• Ash, the phantom guardian of Marona in Phantom Brave
• Ash Crimson, the latest main character in the King of Fighters game-series
• Ash (Supernatural), a recurring character on the Supernatural TV series.
• Ash, monster from Final Fantasy 9 game, located on "Memoria" (Last game location).
• Ash, the protagonist of Avalon
• Ash, a dragon-character in the video-game Kameo: Elements of Power
• Ash, the protagonist of the novel Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle
• Nina Ash, a werewolf from Angel (TV Series)
• Ash (MÄR), a character in the manga and anime series MÄR
• Ash, a controversial character from Bare Knuckle 3
• Ash, a controversial main character in Alex Rider: Snakehead
• Ashe, a character in Final Fantasy XII

Places

In Australia

• Ashburton railway station, Melbourne; station code ASH

In the United Kingdom

• Ash, Derbyshire, England
• Ash, Devon, England
• Ash, Surrey, England
• Ash (near Salway), Dorset, England
• Ash (near Stourpaine), Dorset, England
• Ash (near Sandwich), Kent, England
• Ash-cum-Ridley, near Sevenoaks, Kent, England
• Ash (near Taunton), Somerset, England
• Ash (near Yeovil), Somerset, England

In the United States

• Ash, Oregon in Douglas County, Oregon
• A community in Brunswick County, North Carolina

Other meanings

• Ash (god), a figure in Egyptian mythology
• Ash (Aishwarya Rai), one of the nicknames of Indian actress Aishwarya Rai
• Ash railway station, a rail station near Guildford in the United Kingdom
• Almquist shell, a command-line interface for computers
• Alt.suicide.holiday, a Usenet newsgroup
• American Shorthair, a breed of cat
• Bisnovat R-4, a missile with the NATO reporting name ASH
• Ash Mountain, several mountains by this name in Canada and the USA

See also

• Ashe
• Ashes
• Ashley