OF Ohio 



83 



AILANTHUS 



Ailanthus glandulosa, Desfontaines 



THE Ailanthus. also called Tree of Heaven, Chinese 

 Sumac, and Paradise Tree came to this country from 

 China about 150 years ago, and was planted first near Phila- 

 delphia. The leaves are alternate compound, with 11 to 31 

 leaflets, occasionally 3 feet long. Leaflets are 3 to 5 inches 



AILANTHUS 



One-fourth natural size. 



Twig, one-half natural size. Leaf-scar, slightly enlarged. 



long, egg-shaped, long-pointed at apex, smooth along mar- 

 gin except for a few teeth near base. They produce unpleas- 

 ant smell when crushed. Glands are usually present near 

 base of leaflets. 



The flowers are small, greenish, of two kinds and arranged 

 in loose clusters. Pollen-bearing and seed-producing occur 

 on diff'crent trees. The fruit is a thin winged seed produced 

 in large clusters. The bark on young trees is smooth, thin, 

 light gray. On older trunks it becomes dark gray to black. 

 The twigs are very stout, yellowish-green to brown, cov- 

 ered with a velvety down, marked with ochre-colored breath- 

 ing pores and large heart-shaped leaf-scars with 8 to 14 

 groups of bundle-scars. The buds are small, round, red- 

 dish-brown. The wood is light, soft, weak, white to pale 

 yellow. It is well adapted to the manufacture of paper pulp. 

 The Ailanthus has been planted in all parts of Ohio. In 

 many places it has escaped cultivation and now forms dense 

 thickets. It is common along fences, in waste places, open 

 woods, and abandoned fields. 



