Bark
The trunk is straight, 60–80 cm in diameter; bark light grey and smooth, becoming grey-brown and rough on large trees, aromatic, slightly bitter.
Ailanthus excelsa
Syn. Pongelion excelsum
IUCN Red List
Data Deficient
(DD)
Local name
- Indian Tree of Heaven (English)
- Mahanimb (Hindi)
- Arduso (Gujarati)
Tree type
Evergreen
Deciduous
Family: Simaroubaceae
18m
Indicated uses
Medicinal
Edible
Ornamental
Avenue
Other
Flowering & fruiting
Flowering
Fruiting
Key characters
Leaves
Leaves alternate, pinnately compound, large, 30–60 cm or more in length; leaflets 8–14 or more pairs, long stalked, ovate or broadly lance shaped from very unequal base, 6–10 cm long, 3–5 cm wide, often curved, long pointed, hairy gland.
Flower
Flower clusters droop at leaf bases, shorter than leaves, much branched; flowers many, mostly male and female on different trees, short stalked, greenish-yellow. Five sepals, 5 narrow petals spreading 6 mm across.
Fruit / Seeds
Fruit a 1-seeded samara, lance shaped, flat, pointed at ends, 5 cm long, 1 cm wide, copper red, strongly veined, twisted at the base.
Did you know?
The genus name Ailanthus is a Latin alteration of ailanto which translates to “tree of heaven,” due to how tall and fast the tree grows toward the sky, the Indonesian name for Ailanthus moluccana.
Distribution
Indian Subcontinent, Andaman Islands