Tree of Heaven, Ailanthus altissima, Pleasantville, New York

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• published: 31 Aug 2012
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The tree of heaven is an indomitable invader in New York State that hails from the Chinese Northwest and center, as well as Taiwan. Its foliage seems more tropical in origin rather than temperature, and exotic in appearance compared to many of the more boring-looking maples and oaks found throughout New York State. Its Latin name, Ailanthus altissima, refers to its great height, which reaches up to 17-27 meters, although the many specimens you will see in the wooded American East are saplings growing along roads and near the edges of forests where the soil has been disturbed by human activity. It is a very pollution-resistant tree that is ideal for growing near abandoned human structures or roads where other trees cannot. The tree of heaven can grow about 1-2 meters per year on average for the first few four years, and grows faster in California (hard to imagine since it is so dry in most of California, but I have seen some in my city) than in the Eastern United States, and faster in the U.S.A. than in China. It could be the fastest growing tree in North America. The tree has thin, solid trunks that shoot upwards and enable the plant to race towards the canopy quickly to capture sunlight, all the while releasing toxins in the soil to inhibit the growth of other plants around its roots. The tree of heaven literally grows all over the place in New York. Other members of the Ailanthus genus are tropical in origin; altissima is the only one that grows in temperate climates. Although it looks strangely out of place, it is capable of quickly reaching the capopy of New York's forests, becoming as tall as old oak trees in a very short number of years. However, the tree is said to be short-lived, and only lives to about 50 years of age. As New York has a humid temperate climate that is basically forest by default, this tree is perfectly suited for growth here; where California has its relentless invasive weeds, New York has its invasive trees. One mature plant can produce up to 350000 seeds. The tree of heaven is disliked by many due to its weed-like properties, and also for its supposedly stinky smell, which does not bother me at all. In this video I show areas of mowed lawn where trees of heaven repeatedly try to sprout up from. The tree of heaven can cause damage to sewers, pipes, and building foundations with its aggressive root system. Repeated choppings do little as the plant uses the resources stored in its root system to quickly resprouted and grow 2-3 meters within the next year. The tree also sprouts in nearby locations via root suckering, which is the process of sprouting from a lateral-growing root underneath the soil surface. This type of sprouting is actually a form of asexual reproduction, or cloning; many plants do this. Plants that sprout from roots instead of seeds are also called adventitious shoots, basal shoots, or root sprouts. Much of the world is struggling, and utterly failing, to contain this tree's invasive spread. It is the emperor of invasive tree species.