There are no recognized subspecies, varieties, or forms. Coladonato, Milo 1994. Black ash wood is not as strong nor as hard as that of other ashes. Black ash seedlings, saplings, and sprouts tend to dominate the regeneration layer where partial openings in the canopy have occurred. Clearcutting often results in inadequate natural regeneration of black ash or loss of advanced regeneration because of rising water tables or increased competition with grass and brush.
Most swamp hardwood stands contain many defective and diseased trees.
Many unmanaged, fully stocked hardwood stands contain no desirable advanced black ash regeneration. The tree has coarse ascending branches and a slender, sometimes bent or leaning trunk which extends almost to the top of a narrow crown. The bark is shallowly fissured and divided into large irregular plates with thin, soft, papery scales that rub off easily. The fruit is an elongated, winged, single-seeded samara that is borne in terminal or axillary clusters. Black ash regenerates through sexual and vegetative reproduction.