Handbook of Trees of the j^oetiie.ejst States and Canada. 303 



The Ailanthus is a handsome naturalized tret 

 sometimes attaining, in its native land, the 

 height of 80 or 100 ft. with rather loose open top 

 and trunk 2 to 3 or more feet in thickness. Its 

 large plume-like leaves are familiar objects in the 

 door-yards and parks of many of our eastern 

 towns, giving a tropical appearance scared}' 

 equaled by any other tree of like hardiness. 

 Nor is its ornamental value in late summer 

 often surpassed by anj' other tree, when its 

 frond-like foliage is interspersed with large 

 bunches of brilliantly colored fruit. It is par- 

 ticularly well adapted to planting for shade 

 and ornamental purposes, being a hardy tree 

 of very rapid growth and little affected by the 

 dust and smoke of cities. For this purpose, 

 however, onh' the pistillate trees should be 

 used as they are of greater ornamental value 

 and their flowers are free from the objection- 

 able ordor found with the staminate flowers. 

 Those to most people are ill-scented and their 

 pollen is said to aggravate catarrhal troubles. 



The native habitat of the Ailanthus is China 

 and .Japan, where an excellent quality of silk 

 is made from a worm which lives upon its 

 foliage. It is widely naturalized in eastern 

 United States. 



The wood is of medium hardness and of 

 t:oarse open grain. i 



Leai-cs 12-36 in. long, with 1.3-41 stalked leaf- 

 lets which are from ovate to lanceolate oblong. 

 2-4 in. long, rounded or subcordate at base, acumi- 

 nate, entire but with .3-4 glandular teeth at base. 

 Flowers (.Tune) yellowish-green, in panicles oftea 

 1 ft. or more in length ; stamens villous at base. 

 Fruit samaras about 1% in. long, spirally twisted.^ 



1. A. W., I, 4. 



2. For genus see p. 444. 



