AILANTHUS FAMILY 



Stamens. — In pistillate flowers two or three, inserted on an hypog- 

 ynous disk; in staminate flowers ten. Fdaments thread-like, hairy ; 

 anthers oblong, introrse, two-celled, opening longitudinally. 



Pistil. — Ovary superior ; style erect ; stigma five-lobed. 



Fruit. — One-celled, one-seeded samaras, borne in full clusters, 

 reddish, or yellow green, slightly twisted. Abundant, beautiful. 

 October. 



Wiien people learn for the first time that the Ailanthus 

 which came to us from China is there known as the Tree of 

 Heaven, they are inclined to look upon it as another instance 

 of the general reversal of western standards in the Flowery 

 Kingdom ; unless, indeed, what is meant is, that it " smells to 

 Heaven." For the odor of the staminate blossoms in June 

 is so far-reaching, overpowering, and sickening that the tree 

 is very generally execratetl, and all its merits fail to atone 

 for its one demerit. 



The tree has a liistory. Its seeds were sent to England 

 from China in 1751 by Jesuit missionaries who believed it 

 could be acclimated and the leaves used as the food of a 

 certain kind of silkworm, Tlie experiment failed, but the 

 trees proved to be so stately, graceful, and ornamental that 

 they were soon valued for their own sake. They were 

 planted extensively in parks and pleasure grounds ; were 

 soon introduced into the United States and planted first 

 near Philadelphia, afterward in Rhode Island, and also 

 abundantly at Flushing, New York, At first the new impor- 

 tations were very popidar, but this popularity soon waned 

 because of the disagreeable odor of the blossoms, and the 

 trees were very generally cut down. Since that time, how- 

 ever, the tree has been slowly coming back into favor. The 

 dealers are now able to supply their customers with pistillate 

 plants, since the tree is dioecious, and as the unpleasant odor 

 pertains almost wholly to the staminate flowers, that objec- 

 tion may be entirely eliminated. The pistillate tree in au- 

 tumn loaded with its great clusters of reddish yellow sama- 

 ras is both conspicuous and beautiful. 



The Ailanthus really has great merits. Among these is 



38 



