''Ailanthus vilmoriniana'', commonly known as downy tree of heaven, is a tree in the quassia family. It is native to western

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, but is occasionally encountered in northern

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an gardens.

Description

''Ailanthus vilmoriniana'' is a tree that often attains heights of 20 metres or more with a crown spread of 15 metres. The new shoots occasionally have small green spines. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are quite similar to those of '' A. altissima'', but they are darker in colour and pendulous. The

rachis In biology, a rachis (from the [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft". In zoology and microbiology In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this case the ''rachi ...

is finely pubescent and is a consistent deep red in colour. It is also longer, being up to 1 metre long on pollards, and with more leaflets, usually numbering 23 to 35, though they have sometimes as few as 20. The leaves are pubescent beneath. The bole itself occasionally will have sprouts emerging from it.

Taxonomic status

''Ailanthus vilmoriniana'' is sometimes regarded as a separate species, for instance in '' Flora of China'', Mind the spelling of the name: "vilmorinianus"! but other authorities consider ''A. vilmoriniana'' a synonym of '' A. altissima'', like

The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and launched in 2010. It was intended to be a comprehensive record of all known names of plant specie ...

and International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Mind the spelling "vilmorinianus".

Cultivation

''Ailanthus vilmoriniana'' is endemic to China, and then was brought to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

by Paul Guillaume Farges. The downy tree of heaven was first grown in the United Kingdom in 1897, but it is rarely found in gardens within the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

. It is occasionally encountered in plant collections as well as gardens in the south of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Specimens are also present as far north as the Royal Botanic Gardens in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

References

vilmoriniana Trees of China {{rosid-tree-stub