Flora-Fauna

Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle

(J. Washington Acad. Sci. 6: 495, 1916; ≡ Toxicodendron altissimum Mill.; = Ailanthus glandulosa Desf.; Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 467; Pl. CXCVI nº 3; 1969)

• Life-form & habit: Large deciduous tree, reaching 20–30 m tall. Bark smooth, grey; branches stout, spreading; young shoots often pubescent and malodorous when bruised.
• Leaves: Imparipinnate, up to 90 cm long, with 13–41 leaflets; leaflets ovate-acute, entire or with 1–2 coarse glandular teeth near the base, both surfaces dotted with glands.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Large, much-branched terminal panicles; flowers small, yellowish-white to greenish, 5-merous, strongly scented.
• Fruit: Samara 3–5 cm long, twisted at both ends, reddish to brown at maturity, containing a single central seed.
• Phenology: Flowers May–June; fruits ripen in late summer–autumn.
• Habitat & elevation: Cultivated and naturalized in towns, gardens, roadsides, and disturbed ground; tolerates poor, stony, or polluted soils. Found from sea level up to montane zones.
• Lebanese distribution: Planted in Beirut, Choueifat and widely naturalized in disturbed sites.
• Syrian distribution: Recorded near Latakia, Damascus, and other urbanized or cultivated zones (Mouterde).
• Native range: China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang (POWO).
• Introduced into: Afghanistan, Alabama, Albania, Algeria, Argentina (NE, NW), Arizona, Arkansas, Assam, Austria, Azores, Belgium, British Columbia, Bulgaria, California, Canary Islands, Cape Provinces, Chile Central, Colorado, Connecticut, Corse, Cyprus, Czechia-Slovakia, Delaware, District of Columbia, East Aegean Islands, Florida, France, Free State, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hawaii, Hungary, Idaho, Illinois, India, Indiana, Iowa, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kansas, Kentucky, Korea, Kriti, Krym, KwaZulu-Natal, Lebanon–Syria, Lesotho, Libya, Louisiana, Madeira, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Northeast, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Morocco, Nansei-shoto, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, New Zealand North & South, North Carolina, Northern Provinces, NW. Balkan Peninsula, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pakistan, Palestine, Pennsylvania, Poland, Portugal, Québec, Rhode Island, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South Carolina, Spain, Switzerland, Tadzhikistan, Tennessee, Texas, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe, Ukraine, Uruguay, Utah, Uzbekistan, Vermont, Vietnam, Virginia, Washington, West Himalaya, West Virginia, Wisconsin (POWO).