[6] Like other species in the section Melioides, Fraxinus americana is dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on separate individuals.

[8] The species is native to mesophytic hardwood forests from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, south to northern Florida, and southwest to eastern Texas.

Isolated populations have also been found in western Texas, Wyoming, and Colorado, and the species is reportedly naturalized in Hawaii.

[1] In North America, the EAB is an invasive species, highly destructive to ash trees in its introduced range.

[18][19][20] An infested tree can be recognized by premature fall color and leaf senescence observed on affected branches between August and last week of September.

Before the EAB was officially identified, such dieback symptoms were thought to have been caused by a vascular disease classified as ash yellows.

Other recognizable signs regularly observed have been upper crown dieback, epicormic shoots or sprouts, bark lesions, frass filled larval galleries,[21] and deformed exit holes.

Later it became clear that only on-site professionals diagnosing an individual tree can responsibly make such determinations.

This fungus is, for the most part, fatal, both directly and indirectly, by weakening the tree's immune system so that it is more susceptible to attacks from pests or pathogens.

A study[25] compared it to eight other different species, and it showed the highest antibacterial activity in the context of manufacturing chopping boards.

For example, within the City of Chicago region, 2010 statistics show most common street tree species is white ash at 6.2%.

After its introduction in 1956, it quickly became the most popular and most expensive landscaping selection, surpassing the high priced ginkgo, London plane and white/burr oak.

[29][30] North American native ash tree species are used by North American frogs as a critical food source, as leaves that fall from the trees are particularly suitable for tadpoles to feed upon in ponds (both temporary and permanent), large puddles, and other water sources.