Short answers, pulled from the story.
The oldest clearly identified Fraxinus fossils date to the Middle Eocene, spanning 49 million years ago to 39 million years ago. These ancient remains appear in southeast North America and include the extinct species F. wilcoxiana.
Carl Linnaeus formally described the genus Fraxinus in 1753. His name remains accepted by taxonomists today despite centuries of debate regarding synonymous genera like Ornus or Fraxinoides.
This wood-boring beetle has killed tens of millions of trees across 22 states in the United States. It threatens some seven billion ash trees in North America today after arriving from eastern Asia between the late 1980s and early 1990s.
About 90% of Denmark's ash trees became infected by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus since the mid-1990s. This pathogen causes chalara ash dieback in a large number of trees particularly in eastern and northern Europe.
Fender musical instrument company used ash as tonewood for electric guitars starting in 1950. Swamp ash species provide lightweight options for guitar building while maintaining resonance qualities alongside standard white ash varieties.