of New York 



99 



^T 



AILANTHUS 



Ailanthus glandulosa, Desfontaines 



THE AILANTHUS, also called Tree of Heaven, Chinese Su- 

 mac, and Paradise Tree, came to this country from China 

 about 150 years ago, and was planted first near Philadelphia. 

 Shortly thereafter it was introduced at Flushing, New York. 



The leaves are alternate, compound, with 11 to 3 1 leaflets, 

 occasionally 3 f e e t 

 long. Leaflets are 3 

 to 5 inches long, egg- 

 shaped, long - pointed 

 at apex, smooth along 

 margin except for a 

 few teeth near base. 

 They produce un- 

 pleasant smell when 

 crushed. Glands are 

 usually present near 

 base of leaflets. 



The flowers are 

 small, greenish, of 

 two kinds and ar- 

 ranged in loose clus- 

 ters. Pollen - bearing 

 and seed - producing 

 occur on different 

 trees. The fruit is a 



thin winged seed produced in large clusters 

 young trees is smooth, thin, light-gray. On older trunks it 

 becomes dark-gray to black. The twigs are very stout, yel- 

 lowish-green to brown, covered with a velvety down, marked 

 with ochre-colored breathing pores and large heart-shaped 

 leaf -scars with 8 to 14 groups of bundle-scars. The buds 

 are small, round, reddish-brown. 



AILANTHUS 



One-fourth natural sire. 



Twig, one-half natural size. 



Leaf-scar, slightly enlarged 



The bark on 



The wood is light, soft, weak, white to pale yellow, 

 well adapted to the manufacture of paper pulp. 



It is 



The Ailanthus has been planted in southern and eastern 

 New York and locally westward across the State. It is well- 

 established about Greater New York. In many places it has 

 escaped cultivation and now forms dense thickets. It is com- 

 mon along fences, in waste places and abandoned fields. 



