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Ailanthus altissima
Ailanthus altissima in Europe: distribution, habitat, usage and threats
C. M. Enescu, T. Houston Durrant, G. Caudullo
Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle, known as tree of heaven, is native to China, but it can be found in several countries
across Europe and North America. Tree-of-Heaven is known as an invasive species that can rapidly spread onto disturbed
sites or fragmented landscapes.
Description
Frequency
< 25%
25% - 50%
50% - 75%
> 75%
Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle) is a shortlived, fast-growing tree, reaching a height of around 20 m and
70 cm in diameter. The bark is greyish and slightly rough1 . The
leaves are 0.4-0.7 m long; each leaf comprises 11-25 ovatelanceolate leaflets which are 5-10 cm long2 . The leaflets usually
have one or more coarse teeth at the base and each of these teeth
has a characteristic gland on the underside1 . The flowers appear
in late spring, the trees being usually dioecious, but in some cases
both sexes exist on the same individual1 . Male plants have a foul
odour while flowering1, 3-5 . The winged fruits are twisted at the
top, membranous, purplish yellow and up to 5 cm long4 . Tree-ofHeaven is readily propagated both by seed and vegetatively3 .
Greysh smooth bark with longitudinal fessures becoming deeper in old trees.
(Copyright Aldo De Bastiani, www.actaplantarum.org: AP)
Threats and Diseases
Tree of heaven is affected by very few disease and insect
pests, although pathogens such as Verticillium spp. have the
potential to become important fungal diseases3 . Since it is an
invasive species, its presence should be carefully monitored
especially around nature reserves or fragile forest stands.
Map 1: Plot distribution and simplified chorology map for Ailanthus altissima.
Frequency of Ailanthus altissima occurrences within the field observations as
reported by the National Forest Inventories.
abundant across the Mediterranean region4 . Its expansion has
been facilitated by the worldwide transfer of seeds over the last
two centuries and by its ability to grow on poor sites8, 9 , urban
areas10 and fragmented landscapes11 .
Habitat and Ecology
Tree of heaven tolerates a wide variety of soil types and
climatic conditions. It demands a warm climate, but is resistant
to drought and air pollution2, 4 , although it is sensitive to ozone12 .
It is a shade intolerant species, preferring open spaces4 .
Reddish maturing samaras at the top of a branch
surrounded by the odd-pinnate long leaves.
(Copyright NatureServe, www.flickr.com: CC-BY)
Distribution
Tree of heaven is native of central Asia (China) and was first
introduced to Europe by the French missionary Pierre d’Incaville
more than 260 years ago, who sent seeds from Nanking to
Paris3, 6 . Since then, the species has spread over all continents
except Antarctica4 and is naturalised across large areas of
Europe7. It is limited by low temperatures in the north but is
Importance and Usage
Tree of heaven has been used for a variety of purposes such
as: ornamental species3 , in folk medicine6 or for establishment
of protective forest shelterbelts8, 13 . The species is known for its
ability to produce allelopathic compounds in its leaflets and
bark which are toxic to numerous species and which may have
potential for development as a natural herbicide14 . However, its
pollen is a known allergen3, 4, 15 and its invasive nature means
that it is currently in the top 20 environmental weeds identified
as targets of classical biological control in Europe5, 7.
Greenish-white flowers in a female tree with 5 petals and short steril stamens.
(Copyright Wendy Cutler, www.flickr.com: CC-BY)
Mature samaras persist in the tree during the winter.
(Copyright AnRo0002, commons.wikimedia.org: CC0)
References
[1] B. Shah, Arnoldia pp. 21–27 (1997).
[2] F. Clinovschi, Dendrologie (Editura
Universitatii Suceava, 2005).
[3] P. P. Feret, Journal of Arboriculture 11,
361 (1985).
[4] I. Kowarik, I. Säumel, Perspectives in Plant
Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 8,
207 (2007).
[5] A. W. Sheppard, R. H. Shaw, R. Sforza,
Weed Research 46, 93 (2006).
[6] S. Y. Hu, Arnoldia 39, 29 (1979).
[7] P. Pyšek, et al., Handbook of Alien Species
in Europe (Springer Netherlands, 2009),
vol. 3 of Invading Nature - Springer Series
in Invasion Ecology, pp. 43–61.
[8] C. M. Enescu, Journal of Horticulture,
Forestry and Biotechnology 18, 66 (2014).
Female shade-tree with fruits along an urban road (male trees are rarely used as they have a foul odour during flowering).
(Copyright Marina Torres, commons.wikimedia.org: PD)
[9] P. L. Burch, S. M. Zedaker, Journal of
Arboriculture 29, 18 (2003).
[10] E. Pan, N. Bussak, Journal of
Environmental Horticulture 4, 1 (1986).
[11] R. E. Landenberger, N. L. Kota, J. B.
McGraw, Plant Ecology 192, 55 (2007).
[12] E. Gravano, M. Ferretti, F. Bussotti, P.
Grossoni, Forest Growth Responses
to the Pollution Climate of the 21st
Century, L. Sheppard, Cape, eds. (Springer
Netherlands, 1999), pp. 267–272.
[13] L. Udvardy, Acta Botanica Hungarica 41,
299 (1998).
[14] R. M. Heisey, American Journal of Botany
83, 192 (1996).
[15] M. Ballero, A. Ariu, P. Falagiani, Allergy 58,
532 (2003).
This is an extended summary of the chapter. The full version of
this chapter (revised and peer-reviewed) will be published online at
https://w3id.org/mtv/FISE-Comm/v01/e01ca33. The purpose of this
summary is to provide an accessible dissemination of the related
main topics.
This QR code points to the full online version, where the most
updated content may be freely accessed.
Please, cite as:
Enescu, C. M., Houston Durrant, T., Caudullo, G., 2016. Ailanthus
altissima in Europe: distribution, habitat, usage and threats.
In: San-Miguel-Ayanz, J., de Rigo, D., Caudullo, G., Houston Durrant, T.,
Mauri, A. (Eds.), European Atlas of Forest Tree Species. Publ. Off. EU,
Luxembourg, pp. e01ca33+
Tree species | European Atlas of Forest Tree Species
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