Ailanthus was sold in nurseries across the country as the Tree-of-Heaven for many years, before its invasive qualities were recognized. People planted them as ornamental…
Professional photographer Marcus Manley proves once again that you can’t photograph urban decay in Detroit without showcasing our favorite tree, Ailanthus altissima, in this lovely…
Submitted by Manny I have always been fascinated by the Ailanthus tree since I was a kid growing up in Dorchester, Massachusetts, a rough inner…
Who among you be Ailanthus, The Witness-Who-Reaches High? If you question, you are elm beaten down by exhaust or calloused feet If you spring up…
Gentle readers, there is a rock band by the name of Cracker, and this band, they have a song where they mention our tree of…
By Adrienne Rich Ailanthus, goldenrod, scrapiron, what makes you flower? What burns in the dump today? Thick flames in a grey field, tended By two…
Ailanthus must have been widely planted by New York City in the 19th century. The great American author Henry James mentions Ailanthus in his description…
From Austria comes an interesting website documenting alien invasives, with particular attention paid to Ailanthus: Ruderal.heim.at. The webmaster sends along a nice picture:
Gardening With Nature by James van Sweden, the foremost american landscape architect of the day along with his partner Wolfgang Oehme. In the first chapter…
John Steinbeck, the great American author, had occassion to notice Ailanthus. He describes them in his essay “The Making of a New Yorker” for the…
By John Marin —————————————————– AILANTHUS Please take a moment and think about the Ailanthus. No-one plans it. No-one plants it. No-one waters, Or prunes, Or…
Here’s a blight shot from the City of Detroit that I took from the now-defunct SeeDetroit.com website (I hope they don’t mind). It features a…

The Jungle is Neutral
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