''Ailanthus'' (; derived from ''ailanto,'' an

Ambonese The Ambonese, also known as South Moluccans, are an Indonesian ethnic group of mixed Austronesian and Melanesian origin. They are majority Christians followed by Muslims. The Ambonese are from Ambon Island in Maluku, an island group east of Sula ...

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, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales (formerly

Rutales 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 includes it i ...

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

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

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'' (tree of heaven,

syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

'' A. vilmoriniana'' ) – northern and central

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Invasive Invasive may refer to: *Invasive (medical) procedure *Invasive species *Invasive observation, especially in reference to surveillance *Invasively progressive spread of disease from one organ in the body to another, especially in reference to cancer ...

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 India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and Sri Lanka *''Ailanthus fordii'' – China *''Ailanthus integrifolia'' – New Guinea and Queensland, Australia *''Ailanthus triphysa'' (white siris

''A. malabarica'') – India, South-east Asia and Australia *''Ailanthus vietnamensis'' – 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'' – from a single locality in Hungary *''Ailanthus confucii'' – Tertiary period, Europe, Asia, and North America *''Ailanthus gigas'' – from a single locality in Slovenia *''Ailanthus pythii'' – known from the Miocene of Iceland, Styria in Austria and the Gavdos island in Greece *''Ailanthus kurzii'' – endemic to the Andaman Islands, India

Ailanthus silk moth

A silk spinning moth, the ailanthus silkmoth (''Samia cynthia''), 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 whose larvae feed on ''Ailanthus'' include ''Endoclita malabaricus''.

References

*
Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Ailanthus''
{{Taxonbar , from=Q160580 Ailanthus, Sapindales genera

Selected species

Ailanthus silk moth

See also

References