# Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima)

> A fast, weedy tree (40-60 feet) with long compound leaves that smell like burnt peanut butter when crushed, smooth gray bark and clusters of papery winged seeds. A single tree can shed hundreds of thousands of seeds a year and send up root suckers dozens of feet away, forming thickets that crowd out natives, crack pavement and foundations, and poison nearby plants with its own chemicals. It is also the favored host of the spotted lanternfly. Do not plant it.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/ailanthus-altissima · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: Ailanthus, Chinese sumac, Stinking sumac
- Family: Simaroubaceae
- Type: Broadleaf, drops leaves
- Mature height: 18 m; spread 8 m
- Growth: Fast growing; lives about 50 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 4 to 9
- Light: Sun or part shade
- Water: Low water
- Soil: Grows in almost any soil, including rubble, compacted and polluted urban ground
- Native range: Central China; introduced to the United States in the 1700s and now naturalized in at least 41 states

**Benefits:** Fast canopy, Drought tolerant

**Watch out for:** Invasive elsewhere, Weak wood, Large roots, Surface roots, Allergenic pollen

## Care

Not recommended for planting anywhere in the US. To remove it, cutting alone triggers massive root suckering; the effective approach is a basal-bark or cut-stump herbicide treatment in mid to late summer, followed by several years of pulling or treating sprouts. Report it to your state invasive species program if it appears in a natural area.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** China (Native to China)
- **Invasive:** United States (USDA PLANTS: introduced in the lower 48 states, Hawaii and Canada; Texas Invasives reports it present in 41 states); NC, United States (Listed as invasive by the NC Invasive Plant Council (per NC State Extension Plant Toolbox)); TX, United States (Listed in the Texas Invasives (texasinvasives.org) plant database. Found across Texas including the I-10 corridor; forms thickets, suckers from roots, and hosts spotted lanternfly. Not on the TDA noxious list.)

## Sources

- https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/AIAL
- https://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=AIAL
- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ailanthus-altissima/
- https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/ailalt/all.html