AILANTHUS; TREE OF HEAVEN (Ailanthus glandulosa, 

 Desf.). 50 to 75 feet. A luxuriant, quick-growing, hardy 

 tree, native of China, where it is a popular street tree in cities 

 So it is in European centres. Leaves 12 to 30 inches long, 01 

 narry-v, pointed leaflets, each plain margined, except for a 

 paii of opposite notches near the base. Flowers of the two 

 kinds on separate trees, in profuse clusters; staminate bloom 

 ma'odorous, but soon past; pistillate flowers inconspicuous, 

 soon becoming showy against the dark leaves as the single 

 seed develops in the centre of a narrow, flat wing, that passes 

 from pale green into shades from pink to coppery red. The 

 tree looks like a huge hardy hydrangea, with fewer flower 

 heads. A popular ornamental and shade tree in the Eastern 

 States, and sparingly planted farther west. A fine shrub for 

 screening unsightly objects, when cut back each year to the 

 ground. The shoots that rise from the roots often grow ten 

 feet in one season, and the leaves may exceed a yard in length. 



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