''Ailanthus'' (; derived from ''ailanto,'' an Ambonese word probably meaning "tree of the gods" or "tree of heaven") is a genus of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s belonging to the family

Simaroubaceae The Simaroubaceae, also known as the quassia family, are a small, mostly tropical, family in the order Sapindales. In recent decades, it has been subject to much taxonomic debate, with several small families being split off. A molecular phyloge ...

, in the order

Sapindales Sapindales is an order of flowering plants. Well-known members of Sapindales include citrus; maples, horse-chestnuts, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; mahogany and neem. The APG III system of 2009 includ ...

(formerly Rutales or

Geraniales Geraniales is a small order (biology), order of flowering plants, included within the rosid subclade of eudicots. The largest family (biology), family in the order is Geraniaceae with over 800 species. In addition, the order includes the smaller ...

). The genus is native from east Asia south to northern

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

. One species, the

tree of heaven ''Ailanthus altissima'' ( ), commonly known as tree of heaven or ailanthus tree, is a deciduous tree in the quassia family. It is native to northeast and central China, and Taiwan. Unlike other members of the genus ''Ailanthus'', it is found ...

(''Ailanthus altissima'') is considered a weed in some parts of the world.

Selected species

The number of living species is disputed, with some authorities accepting up to ten species, while others accept six or fewer. Species include: *''

Ailanthus altissima ''Ailanthus altissima'' ( ), commonly known as tree of heaven or ailanthus tree, is a deciduous tree in the quassia family. It is native to northeast and central China, and Taiwan. Unlike other members of the genus ''Ailanthus'', it is found ...

'' (tree of heaven, syn. '' A. vilmoriniana'' ) – northern and central

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

, Taiwan. Invasive in North America, Europe, Britain, and Australia. Serves as central metaphor in '' A Tree Grows in Brooklyn''. *''

Ailanthus excelsa ''Ailanthus excelsa'', commonly known as tree of heaven, is a large deciduous tree found in India and Sri Lanka. In Tamil, it is also known as Pi-Nari Maram due to its disagreeable odor. The trees are grown along the edges of fields and rivers to ...

'' – India and Sri Lanka *''

Ailanthus fordii ''Ailanthus fordii'', otherwise known as green ailanthus or evergreen ailanthus, is an evergreen tree in the family Simaroubaceae. It is native to the low evergreen forests of Hong Kong. History ''Ailanthus fordii'' was first discovered in Ca ...

'' – China *''

Ailanthus integrifolia ''Ailanthus integrifolia'', white siris, is a tree in the family Simaroubaceae. The specific epithet ' is from the Latin meaning "entire leaves", referring to the leaflet margins. Description ''Ailanthus integrifolia'' grows as a large tree up ...

'' –

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and Queensland, Australia *''

Ailanthus triphysa ''Ailanthus triphysa'' (also ''Ailanthus malabarica'') is a medium to tall evergreen rainforest tree that is native to Asia and Australia. The wood is used for matchwood and plywood. The tree is known as ''halmaddi'' in India, where its resin, als ...

'' (white siris syn. ''A. malabarica'') – India, South-east Asia and Australia *''

Ailanthus vietnamensis ''Ailanthus vietnamensis'' is a deciduous tree in the family Simaroubaceae, endemic to the wet tropics of Vietnam. Description ''Ailanthus vietnamensis'' is a monoecious tree that can grow 8 meters in height with a diameter at breast height of ...

'' – Vietnam There is a good fossil record of ''Ailanthus'' with many species names based on their geographic occurrence, but almost all of these have very similar morphology and have been grouped as a single species among the three species recognized: *''

Ailanthus tardensis ''Ailanthus'' (; derived from ''ailanto,'' an Ambonese word probably meaning "tree of the gods" or "tree of heaven") is a genus of trees belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales (formerly Rutales or Geraniales). The genus ...

'' – from a single locality in Hungary *''

Ailanthus confucii ''Ailanthus'' (; derived from ''ailanto,'' an Ambonese word probably meaning "tree of the gods" or "tree of heaven") is a genus of trees belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales (formerly Rutales or Geraniales). The genus ...

'' –

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

period, Europe, Asia, and North America *''

Ailanthus gigas ''Ailanthus'' (; derived from ''ailanto,'' an Ambonese Malay, Ambonese word probably meaning "tree of the gods" or "tree of heaven") is a genus of trees belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales (formerly Rutales or Geranial ...

'' – from a single locality in Slovenia *''

Ailanthus pythii ''Ailanthus'' (; derived from ''ailanto,'' an Ambonese word probably meaning "tree of the gods" or "tree of heaven") is a genus of trees belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales (formerly Rutales or Geraniales). The genus ...

'' – known from the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

of Iceland,

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

in Austria and the

Gavdos Gavdos ( ) is the southernmost Greek island, located to the south of its much larger neighbour, Crete, of which it is administratively a part, in the regional unit of Chania. It forms a community with surrounding islets and was part of the forme ...

island in Greece *''

Ailanthus kurzii ''Ailanthus'' (; derived from ''ailanto,'' an Ambonese word probably meaning "tree of the gods" or "tree of heaven") is a genus of trees belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales (formerly Rutales or Geraniales). The genus ...

'' – endemic to the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...

, India *'' Ailanthus maximus'' – known from the latest

Paleocene The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...

to late

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

in the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or Qingzang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and East Asia. Geographically, it is located to the north of H ...

Ailanthus silk moth

A silk spinning moth, the ailanthus silkmoth (''

Samia cynthia ''Samia cynthia'', the ailanthus silkmoth, is a saturniid moth, used to produce silk fabric but not as domesticated as the silkworm, ''Bombyx mori''. The moth has very large wings of , with a quarter-moon shaped spot on both the upper and lower ...

''), lives on ''Ailanthus'' leaves, and yields a silk more durable and cheaper than mulberry silk, but inferior to it in fineness and gloss. This moth has been introduced to the eastern United States and is common near many towns; it is about 12 cm across, with angulated wings, and in color olive brown, with white markings. Other

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

whose

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e feed on ''Ailanthus'' include ''

Endoclita malabaricus ''Endoclita malabaricus'' is a species of moth of the family Hepialidae. It is known from the Western Ghats of India. At rest it looks like a dry leaf. The species overlaps in range with '' Endoclita magnus''. Adult moths are active particularly ...

'', and ''Atteva aurea'' (commonly known as the Ailanthus webworm moth).

References

*
Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Ailanthus''
{{Authority control Sapindales genera

Selected species

Ailanthus silk moth

See also

References