Despite its "heavenly" name the Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is in my opinion the most pesky invasive tree species in the United States and Southern Europe. I have personally observed this tree species as a very prolific seeder in Spain, France, England, Canada (Toronto) and the States of Oregon and Washington. According to this website it is invasive in at least 30 of the 50 States. In this post I have tried to document in images just one instance of how this tree can spread. All the images are from the same yard in Eastern Washington. In the top image you can see the "mother" tree that is responsible for "seeding" the yard with new little Trees-of-heaven.
I did not stop to count them but there must have been at least 40 of the fast growing seedlings. In the image above you can see them growing all along the side of the house. This is a fast growing tree species that can form trunks up to three feet in diameter. Letting them grow this close to the house is NOT a good idea.
This next image shows more seedlings growing along the cyclone fence. I've seen these grow up to 2-3 feet tall in just one year! The image below shows a few more growing out by the garage unchecked. The owner of this house seems unaware that this tree species is capable of growing into dense thickets and can have an adverse affect on other plant species.
I mentioned in my last post that the Tree-of-Heaven can be confused with the Black Walnut. The leaves of both are quite similar but the flowers and fruit is easily identifiable.
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4 comments:
Oh yeah, that nasty Ailanthus is really degrading the pristine, species-rich environment of that otherwise-stunning yard. Sorry to snark! But look at your photos with a different perspective, maybe from nature's point of view. As a fairly thoughtless, trashy, destructive species, we negatively alter wondrous and successful ecosystems to propagate ourselves and our accoutrements. Not that I'm complaining. I like computers and cheeseburgers as much as the next guy. But we create these horrible environments where many species can no longer grow, or directly prevent them from growing ourselves, then complain when nature is clever enough to provide Wonderspecies that can tolerate soil degradation and compaction, air pollution, reflected heat from roadways, salt runoff and too much else to list. Phew!
Where I live, in Manhattan, we don't even deserve the Ailanthus that deign to grow in the rubblely, leftover spaces we call back yards or in abandoned lots and rights of way. Except for some struggling street trees, entire blocks here would be devoid of trees were it not for this one, and some other invasives like mulberry, Siberian elm, Norway maple, black locust, Paulownia and a couple others.
Don't get me wrong. I think proliferation of invasives has a lot of bad things to say about how we take care of our spaces and our planet. But since that's not about to change too soon, at least we are given the gift of trees until we evolve into something more wise and responsible. A little gratitude is in order, no? Nice blog, thanks. Kim.
Awesome post!
<3 Lindsay
What a difference in the Portland, Oregon, area, between the old neighborhoods and the younger ones in the suburbs. The Tree of Heaven can hardly be found like in Beaverton, Tigard or Sherwood, but can be seen ever few minutes in the older areas of NE. No shortage on that tree.
MDV
Oregon
These trees are a problem here in Austin, Texas as well. You know any good tricks to keep the seedlings from coming back after you cut them down. I have a few clients where we chase these things constantly.
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