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Simaroubaceae FAMILY

Ailanthus altissima

Ailanthus altissima

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

The plant is possibly poisonous[1, 2]. Male flowers have potentially allergenic pollen[3]. The leaves are toxic to domestic animals[4]. Gardeners who fell the tree may suffer rashes[4]. The odour of the foliage is intensely disagreeable and can cause headache and nausea, rhinitis and conjunctivitis[4].The pollen can cause hay fever[4].

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthFast

Ailanthus altissima is a very adaptable tree that can be grown in temperate to subtropical climates. The tree is estimated to tolerate a mean annual precipitation in the range of 300 - 2,500mm, and to tolerating a dry season of up to 8 months. It succeeds in areas where the mean annual temperature is in the range of 10 - 20°c[4]. Dormant plants are hardy to at least -15°c[3]. Prefers a position in full sun or partial shade[5]. Grows best in a light moist soil and in a sheltered position, but can succeed in soils from sandy to light clay, from well-drained to swampy, and on both poor or rich, though it is said to do poorly on chalky soils or compact clay[4]. A very tough and easily grown tree, it succeeds under most conditions, being said to be tolerant of both alkaline and acid soils; poor, dry or wet soils; heavily polluted soils; drought; and atmospheric pollution, including sulphur dioxide and hydroden chloride[3, 4]. The roots are rather aggressive and can cause damage to drainage systems[6]. The plant produces a toxin in its bark and leaves - this gradually accumulates in the soil as the leaves etc decay. The toxin inhibits the growth of other plants[7]. The plant is resistant to most diseases[4]. Male flowers are malodorous and have potentially allergenic pollen, so only female trees are recommmended for street planting[8, 3]. The crushed leaves are also malodorous[6]. The large leaves have glandular teeth near their base and these release a pungent aroma when pressed[9]. The disagreeable odour of the plant may cause some people to feel sleepy[4]. The wood is brittle, and branches are very liable to break off in strong winds[3]. The trees coppice readily[3]. Yields of 20 cubic metres of wood per hectare can be obtained from this tree[4]. The leaves were once used as a food for silkworms[10], but were found to be unsuitable[1]. This species is notably resistant to honey fungus[11, 3]. The trees are usually dioecious, though exceptions occur. Male and female forms generally need to be grown if seed is required[4].

Propagation

Seed - best sown outdoors as soon as it is ripe[12]. If you only have a small quantity of seed it will probably be better to sow it in a cold frame. The germination can be poor[8], averaging about 56%[13], though one kilo of seed will normally produce in the region of 6,500 usable plants[4]. The seed germinates best if given a short cold stratification of 8 weeks[8, 14]. The seed is not usually produced in Britain[8]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, keep them in a cold frame for their first winter and plant them out in late spring[PFAF]. Root cuttings in December[14]. Suckers, planted out in late winter. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Ailanthus+altissima>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. — Chiej. R. · MacDonald · 1984 · ISBN 0-356-10541-5 ↩︎Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
  2. [2]Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. — Riotte. L. · Garden Way, Vermont, USA. · 1978 · ISBN 0-88266-064-0 ↩︎Fairly good.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Handbook of Energy Crops — Duke. J. · - · 1983 · https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html · ISBN - ↩︎Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants.
  5. [5]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  6. [6]Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada — Lauriault. J. · Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. · 1989 · ISBN 0889025649 ↩︎Very good on identification for non-experts, the book also has a lot of information on plant uses.
  7. [7]Global Invasive Species Database — http://www.issg.org/database/welcome/ ↩︎Very detailed information on almost 400 species (with more being added) of plants that have become weeds in areas outside their native range.
  8. [8]Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. — McMillan-Browse. P. · Grower Books · 1985 · ISBN 0-901361-21-6 ↩︎Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.
  9. [9]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · Robert Hale. London. · 1994 · ISBN 0-7090-5440-8 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
  10. [10]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  11. [11]The Garden. Volume 112. — RHS. · Royal Horticultural Society · 1987 · ISBN - ↩︎Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS. In particular, there are articles on plants that are resistant to honey fungus, oriental vegetables, Cimicifuga spp, Passiflora species and Cucurbits.
  12. [12]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  13. [13]Seed Manual for Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. — Gordon. A. G. and Rowe. D. C. F. · HMSO; London · 1982 · ISBN 0-11-710152-4 ↩︎Very comprehensive guide to growing trees and shrubs from seed. Not for the casual reader.
  14. [14]The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. — Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. · Athens Ga. Varsity Press · 1987 · ISBN 0942375009 ↩︎A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.
  15. [15]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  16. [16]The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. — Elias. T. · Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. · 1980 · ISBN 0442238622 ↩︎A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.
  17. [17]Trees of Central Texas. — Vines. R. A. · University of Texas Press · 1987 · ISBN 0-292-78958-3 ↩︎A good concise guide, it gives details of habitats and some of the uses of trees growing in Texas.
  18. [18]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  19. [19]Complete Guide to Herbs. — Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. · Rodale Press · 1979 · ISBN 0-87857-262-7 ↩︎A good herbal.
  20. [20]The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism — Stuart. M. (Editor) · Orbis Publishing. London. · 1979 · ISBN 0-85613-067-2 ↩︎Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.
  21. [21]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
  22. [22]New South Wales Government; Pest and Weeds Management — http://weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/ ↩︎A website with very well-produced factsheets on over 300 noxious and environmental weeds of New South Wales
  23. [23]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  24. [24]A Barefoot Doctors Manual. — ? · Running Press; Philadelphica. · 1977 · ISBN 0-914294-92-X ↩︎A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.
  25. [25]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  26. [26]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  27. [27]Chinese Materia Medica. — Stuart. Rev. G. A. · Taipei. Southern Materials Centre · 1911 · ISBN - ↩︎A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.
  28. [28]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  29. [29]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  30. [30]Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. — Yeung. Him-Che. · Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles · 1985 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent Chinese herbal giving information on over 500 species. Rather technical and probably best suited to the more accomplished user of herbs.
  31. [31]Medicinal Plants of China — Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. · Reference Publications, Inc. · 1985 · ISBN 0-917256-20-4 ↩︎Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
  32. [32]The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants — Chevallier. A. · Dorling Kindersley. London · 1996 · ISBN 9-780751-303148 ↩︎An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
  33. [33]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  34. [34]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
  35. [35]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  36. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎