Tree of heaven
Ailanthus altissima · Simaroubaceae
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.
Trees for Columbus, OH
For each tree, where it is native, where it has adapted, where it has become a problem, and how to keep one alive. Tell us where you live and the directory will show you what applies there, with the recommended and native trees first.
Each tree here is listed as invasive or prohibited in Columbus, OH, by the state, the city or an invasive-species council, and the source is on its page. An invasive tree spreads on its own into natural areas and crowds out what grew there first; a prohibited one is also illegal to sell or plant. If one is already growing on your property, the tree's page says how to remove it and what to plant instead.
10 species
Invasive. It escapes into natural areas and displaces native plants. Check your state's list before buying one.Prohibited. Selling or planting it is banned here.
Mimosa
Albizia julibrissin · Fabaceae
A flat-topped, umbrella-shaped small tree (20-40 feet) with ferny leaves and fluffy pink powder-puff flowers in early summer that hummingbirds visit.
Russian olive
Elaeagnus angustifolia · Elaeagnaceae
A thorny small tree or large shrub with silvery, willow-like leaves, fragrant yellow flowers in late spring and mealy silver-to-red fruits that birds spread.
Japanese privet
Ligustrum japonicum · Oleaceae
The common waxleaf hedge shrub of Texas subdivisions, a dense evergreen 6-12 feet tall (to 20 as a small tree) with thick glossy leaves, cream flowers in late spring and blue-black berries.
Glossy privet
Ligustrum lucidum · Oleaceae
A fast evergreen shrub or small tree (25-40 feet) with glossy dark leaves, panicles of heavy-scented cream flowers in late spring and masses of blue-black berries that birds carry into every greenbelt and creek bottom in Austin, where it forms dense evergreen thickets that shade out everything beneath.
Chinaberry
Melia azedarach · Meliaceae
A fast, short-lived tree (30-40 feet) with lacy dark leaves, fragrant lilac flowers in spring and clusters of yellow marble-sized berries that hang on all winter.
Princess tree
Paulownia tomentosa · Paulowniaceae
An extremely fast tree with huge velvety heart-shaped leaves, showy upright clusters of fragrant violet foxglove-like flowers before the leaves in spring, and woody capsules that release thousands of tiny winged seeds.
Chinese pistache
Pistacia chinensis · Anacardiaceae
A tough, heat- and drought-proof shade tree (30-35 feet) with fine compound leaves that turn fiery orange and red in fall even in Texas, which made it a nursery favorite and a common Austin street tree.
Callery pear
Pyrus calleryana · Rosaceae
The ubiquitous white-flowering street tree of the 1980s and 1990s (30-50 feet), pyramidal with glossy leaves that turn purple-red in fall.
Chinese tallow
Triadica sebifera · Euphorbiaceae
A fast-growing tree (30-40 feet) with heart-shaped leaves that turn brilliant red and yellow in fall and white waxy seeds that look like popcorn on bare winter branches.