Editing Ailanthus

{{Short description|Genus of flowering trees}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = Ailanthus altissima1.jpg
|image_caption = ''Ailanthus altissima'' leaf and fruit
|taxon = Ailanthus
|authority = [[René Louiche Desfontaines|Desf.]]
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = See text
|synonyms = 
*''Hebonga'' {{small|Radlk. (1911 publ. 1912)}}
*''Pongelion'' {{small|Adans. (1763), nom. rej.}}
|synonyms_ref =<ref name = powo>[https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:329436-2 ''Ailanthus'' Desf.] ''[[Plants of the World Online]]''. Retrieved 8 August 2023.</ref>
}}

'''''Ailanthus''''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|l|æ|n|θ|ə|s}};<ref>''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607</ref> derived from ''ailanto,'' an [[Ambonese Malay|Ambonese]] word probably meaning "tree of the gods" or "tree of heaven")<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Ailanthus|volume=1|page=437}}</ref> is a genus of [[tree]]s belonging to the family [[Simaroubaceae]], in the order [[Sapindales]] (formerly [[Rutales]] or [[Geraniales]]). The genus is native from east Asia south to northern [[Australasian realm|Australasia]]. One species, the [[Ailanthus altissima|Tree-of-Heaven]] (''Ailanthus altissima'') is considered a weed in some parts of the world.

==Selected species==
[[File:Ailanthus altissima 002.JPG|thumb|''Ailanthus altissima'', male flowers]]

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]]'' {{Au|(Mill.) Swingle}} (tree of heaven, [[synonym (biology)|syn.]] ''[[Ailanthus vilmoriniana|A. vilmoriniana]]'' {{Au|Dode}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-2626859|title=The Plant List – ''Ailanthus vilmoriniana''}}</ref>) – northern and central [[mainland China]], Taiwan. [[invasive species|Invasive]] in North America, Europe, Britain, and Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/oxford/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8582000/8582535.stm|title=Invasive species of Oxfordshire|author1=Peter Brown|author2=Helen Roy|author2-link=Helen Roy|date=23 March 2010|publisher=BBC Oxford|access-date=9 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/profile/tree-heaven|title= National Invasive Species Information Center (NISIC): Gateway to invasive species information; covering Federal, State, local, and international sources.}}</ref> Serves as central metaphor in ''[[A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (novel)|A Tree Grows in Brooklyn]]''.
*''[[Ailanthus excelsa]]'' {{Au|Roxb.}} – India and Sri Lanka
*''[[Ailanthus fordii]]'' {{Au|Noot.}} – China
*''[[Ailanthus integrifolia]]'' {{Au|Lam.}} – [[New Guinea]] and Queensland, Australia
*''[[Ailanthus triphysa]]'' {{Au|(Dennst.) Alston}} (white siris [[synonym (biology)|syn.]] ''A. malabarica''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/tro-50126836|title=The Plant List – ''Ailanthus malabarica''}}</ref>) – India, South-east Asia and Australia
*''[[Ailanthus vietnamensis]]'' {{Au|H.V.Sam & Noot.}} – 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:<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Corbett, S.L. |author2=Manchester, S.R. |year=2004|title=Phytogeography and Fossil History of ''Ailanthus'' (Simaroubaceae)|journal=International Journal of Plant Sciences |volume=165|issue=4|pages=671–690|jstor=10.1086/386378|doi=10.1086/386378|bibcode=2004IJPlS.165..671C |s2cid=85383552 }}</ref>
*''[[Ailanthus tardensis]]'' {{Au|Hably}} – from a single locality in Hungary
*''[[Ailanthus confucii]]'' {{Au|Unger}} – [[Tertiary]] period, Europe, Asia, and North America
*''[[Ailanthus gigas]]'' {{Au|Unger}} – from a single locality in Slovenia
*''[[Ailanthus pythii]]'' {{Au|Unger}} – known from the [[Miocene]] of Iceland, [[Styria]] in Austria and the [[Gavdos]] island in Greece
*''[[Ailanthus kurzii]]'' {{Au|Prain}} – endemic to the [[Andaman Islands]], India
*''[[Ailanthus maximus]]'' {{Au|Liu}} – known from the latest [[Paleocene]] to late [[Oligocene]] in the [[Tibetan Plateau]]<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018219300574|title=Biotic interchange through lowlands of Tibetan Plateau suture zones during Paleogene|author1=Jia Liu|author2=Tao Su|journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |date=2019|volume=524 |pages=33–40 |publisher=Elsevier|doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.02.022 |bibcode=2019PPP...524...33L |access-date=15 December 2024}}</ref>

==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&nbsp;cm across, with angulated wings, and in color olive brown, with white markings.<ref name="EB1911"/> Other [[Lepidoptera]] whose [[larva]]e feed on ''Ailanthus'' include ''[[Endoclita malabaricus]]'', and ''Atteva aurea'' (commonly known as the Ailanthus webworm moth).

==See also==
* [[Spotted lanternfly]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
*{{APNI | name=Ailanthus Desf. | id = 25309}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20001023195846/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?326 Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Ailanthus'']
*[http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/aial1.htm Plant Conservation Alliance's Alien Plant Working Group: Least Wanted]
{{Refend}}

{{Taxonbar |from=Q160580}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ailanthus| ]]
[[Category:Sapindales genera]]