Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)
Original title: Freixo (Fraxinus excelsior)
The ash tree, now found only in some quintas, which a 1493 royal letter suggests was once part of Madeira's forest flora and reserved to the Crown.
This member of the olive family, which now occurs only in some quintas (country estates), seems once to have formed part of Madeira’s forest flora. A letter issued by John II in 1493 ‘pera confirmaçom & firmidom da merçee das auguas & outras cousas’ (for the confirmation and ratification of the grant of the waters and other things) reads as follows: ‘… we see fit and are pleased to confirm, as by this letter we confirm and hold confirmed, the said chapter containing the said things, with this declaration: that the ash trees and cedars which we reserve for ourselves they shall not use or cut, except for some church or council house…’