AgroForestryTree Database
Ailanthus altissima
 Species identityEcology and distributionPropagation and managementFunctional usesPests and diseasesAdditional InfoBibliographyImages |
Species identity
TaxonomySynonym(s)
Common names
(Dutch) : hemelboom
(English) : ailanthas, China sumac, tree of heaven
(French) : ailante glanduleux
Botanic description
Ailanthus altissima is a deciduous tree, usually dioecious, 6-10(-30) m tall, trunk crooked, 30(-100) cm, crown open. Bark light brown or grey, smooth, thin, becoming rough with long fissures and dark ridges. Leaves alternate, pinnately compound 30-60 cm long, hairy when young, crushed foliage with disagreeable odour but suggestive of peanuts. Leaflets 13-41, short-stalked, broadly lanceolate, 7.5-13 cm long, 1.5-5 cm wide, acuminate, with 2-5 teeth near inside base. Panicles large, 15-25 cm long; flowers many, 6 mm long, greenish or greenish-yellow, with 5-lobed calyx, 5 narrow petals. Male flowers with 10 stamens and disagreeable odor. Female flowers with 2-5 nearly separate pistils united at base. Fruit a samara, 1-5 per flower, 3-5 cm long, 1 cm wide, with reddish or purplish-brown, flat, slightly twisted wing. Seed, 1, in the middle of the fruit, 6 mm long, elliptical, flattened. The generic name ‘Ailanthus’ comes from ‘ailanthos’ (tree of heaven), the Indonesian name for Ailanthus moluccana.
Ecology and distribution
History of cultivationA. altissima is native to China and Taiwan, it was introduced to Europe in 1751 and to the USA in 1784. It is listed as a serious weed in Australia and is widely spread, weedlike, in all temperate climates. Ailanthus is grown for lumber in New Zealand and China.
Natural Habitat
The tree extends from subtropical dry to wet through cool temperate dry to wet forest zones. It tolerates frost and chilling winters, annual precipitation of 300-2 500 mm (tolerating a dry season of up to 8 months), annual temperature of 10-20 deg C, and pH of 5.5-8.
Geographic distribution
Native : China, Taiwan, Province of China
Exotic : Argentina, Iran, Japan, Korea, Republic of, Morocco, New Zealand, United States of America
Biophysical limitsAltitude: 0-2 000 m Mean annual temperature: 10-20 deg C Mean annual rainfall: 300-2 500 mm Soil type: The tree grows on a wide array of soils, from acid to alkaline (pH of 5.5-8), sand to light clay, well-drained to swampy, poor to rich. It is said to do poorly on chalky soils or compact clay.
Reproductive Biology
The tree bears unisexual flowers on different trees. Both male and female flowers appear during July to August. Flowering occurs during May to June and seeds ripen in large, crowned clusters in September to October of the same season, and are dispersed from October to the following spring. Early flowering of vegetatively propagated trees is common.
Propagation and management
Propagation methodsSeed stratified over winter should be spring sown, covered with 12-15 mm soil. 1 kg seed yields 6 500 seedlingsTree Management
The tree can grow to 3-4 m in height during a 5-month growing season. Ailanthus is a prolific seeder but also spreads by root suckers and coppices readily. Planting root cuttings of male trees would eliminate the seeding problem. Root suckers can be problematic in fields as well as sidewalks and buildings. Branches should be lopped for fuel before the seeds mature.
Germplasm Management
100 kg fruits will yield 30-90 kg seed. Seed storage behaviour probably orthodox, viability is lost within 6 months hermetic storage at room temperature with 13 % moisture content. After 1 year open storage at fluctuating temperatures of -6-40 deg C, 75 % of the seeds germinated. Long term storage can be achieved in air-dry storage at low temperatures (Hong TD et al,1996).
Functional uses
ProductsFood: Leaves have been used as adulterants of belladonna and senna products. The seed is reported to contain 27 g protein and 56-59 g fat per 100 g. Apiculture: Honey greenish-brown; flavour initially poor but after a few weeks becomes very fine, with aroma reminiscent of Muscat wines; granulates finely after several months. Fuel: The wood is used for charcoal and firewood. Timber: The wood is yellow, ring-porous, moderately hard and heavy (up to 650 kg/cu m at 12 % moisture content). Though little used, except in poorer countries, the wood is suitable for cabinetry, cellulose manufacture, furniture, lumber, pulp, utensils and woodwork. It is difficult to split but easy to work and polish. Gum or resin: The bark contains oleoresin, resin, and mucilage. Tannin or dyestuff: The leaves contain 12% tannin. Poison: Leaves are toxic to domestic animals and gardeners who fell the tree may suffer rashes. The odour of the foliage is intensely disagreeable and can cause headache and nausea, rhinitis and conjunctivitis. The pollen can cause hay fever. Plant parts steeped in water are said to yield an insecticidal solution. Medicine: The tree is used in homeopathic remedies for cancer. It is reported to be antiseptic, astringent, bactericidal, cardiac, cathartic, deobstruent, depressant, emetic, protisticidal, taenifuge, and vermifuge. Tree-of-heaven is a folk remedy for asthma, diarrhea, dysentery, dysmenorrhea, dysuria, ejaculation (premature), epilepsy, eruption, fever, gonorrhea, hematochezia, leucorrhea, malaria, metrorrhagia, sores, spasms, spermatorrhea, stomachic, tumors of the breast (China), and wet dreams. The fruits are used for ophthalmic diseases. In China, it is bechic, emmenagogue, and used for hemorrhoids. In Korea, the root bark is used for cough, gastric and intestinal upsets. Resin extracted from the roots and leaves is a revulsive or vesicant. The disagreeable odor of the plant may cause some people to feel sleepy. The leaves, bark of the trunk, and roots are put into a wash for parasitic ulcers, itch, and eruptions. Other products: The bark contains ceryl alcohol, ailanthin, quassiin, calcium oxalate crystals, and isoquercetin (quercitin 3-glycoside), phlobaphene, ceryl palmitate, saponin, quassin, and neoquassin, the leaves contain quercetin, as well as isoquercetin, and the alkaloid linuthine. Seeds contain quassiin. From the root bark, cathin-6-one, 1-methoxy-cathin-6-one, methyl 6-methoxy- beta -carboline-1-carboxylate and an unidentified alkaloid have been isolated.Services
Erosion control: It is used for erosion control in subtropical and temperate countries. Shade or shelter: The sumac provides shade and is widely planted in shelterbelts where few other trees will thrive. Reclamation: The tree has been used to cover bare alpine slopes. Ornamental: The weed tree can be a handsome tropical-looking ornamental with its compound leaves sometimes overtopped by reddish to yellowish clusters of winged fruits. Pollution control: The tree has potential for cultivation in heavily polluted areas where other species may grow poorly or not at all.
Pests and diseasesArmillaria mellea (mushroom root rot), Botryodiplodia ailanthi var. chromogena, Camarosporium berkeleyanum, Cercospora glandulosa (leaf spot), Colletotrichum tertium, Coniothyrium insitivum, Cytospora ailanthi, Daedalea unicolor (butt rot), Diaporthe medusaea, Dimerosporium robiniae (black mildew), Diplodia ailanthi, D. natalensis (twig blight), Eutypella glandulosa, E. microcarpa, Fusarium lateritium (twig blight), Gloeosporium ailanthi (leaf spot), Guignardia ailanthi, and Haplosporella ailanthi have been reported to attack the sumac. Tent caterpillars are occasionally a problem in the USA, completely defoliating, but rarely, if ever, killing the trees.
Bibliography
Cozzo D. 1972. Initial behaviour of Ailanthus altissima in an experimental plantation. Revista Forestal Argentina. 16(2): 47-52.Hong TD, Linington S, Ellis RH. 1996. Seed storage behaviour: a compendium. Handbooks for Genebanks: No. 4. IPGRI.
Hooker W. 1989. Hooker’s finest fruits. The Herbert Press in association with the Royal Horticultural Society.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Ailanthus_altissima.html
Kowarik I. 1983. Colonization by the tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) in the French mediterranean region (Bas-Languedoc), and its phytosociological characteristics. Phytocoenologia. 11(3): 389-405.
Lemmens RHMJ, Soerianegara I, Wong WC (eds.). 1995. Plant Resources of South-east Asia. No 5(2). Timber trees: minor commercial timbers. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden.
National Academy of Sciences. 1980. Firewood crops. National Academy Press. Washington D.C.
Souleles C and Waigh R. 1984. Indole alkaloids of Ailanthus altissima. Journal of Natural Products. 47(4): 741
Varga E, Szendrei K, Reisch J and Maroti G. 1980. Indole alkaloids of Ailanthus altissima. Planta Medica. 40(4): 337-339.
Wijnands DO. 1989. Ailanthus altissima. Dendroflora. 26: 3-5.