Fraxinus is the English Ash, which is a genus in the olive and lilac families. The leaf of an Ash can vary - some, like the Olive leaf, are narrow and long; other varieties have an ovate or cordate leaf not unlike a Lilac. Leaf colours also vary with many new cultivars now available.
These large stately English trees are fairly fast growing and grow well in New Zealand.
Some Ash are evergreen!