Photo taken in Mainz, Germany by Jo Spittler
A lively discussion about Ailanthus altissima broke out in response to my last post about Marko finding a plant busting through the pavement. Observant reader Jo Spittler suggested that the “breakthrough” tree might be an Ailanthus, also known under such poetic names as tree of heaven and ghetto palm. It’s famous for sprouting up in places uninhabitable to most other plants, such as crumbling buildings and paved lots. Indeed, it serves as the central metaphor of the classic book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, as a symbol for flourishing in adverse conditions.
Of course, the tree of heaven’s toughness means that it is also very difficult to remove once it has taken root, leading some gardeners to call it “tree of hell.” Jo sent us this photo of the Ailanthus by her woodpile, writing “The thick stems to the left and center of the photograph are its stems. It seems to have been cut off in the past by the former owner of the house. Unfortunately we are going to have to take it out because it is right by the outside wall and rather a danger to the structure… They speed they grow at amazes me!”
Here are some Ailanthus photos from my archives. I spotted these in Berlin last fall:
Behind a Biergarten on Oranienburger Str, Mitte
In a phone booth on Warschauer Straße, Friedrichshain
On Linienstraße in Mitte
In the same lot on Linienstraße.
I highly recommend the Wikipedia article on the tree of heaven, which is full of intriguing facts. It was recognized by Wikipedia as a featured article, a honor given to less than 0.1% of the articles, which just shows how interesting this tree is. My favorite part is about the Ailanthus at the Noguchi Museum in Queens, which the sculptor Noguchi preserved when building the museum. Last year, the tree was ailing and had to be removed, but it was preserved by the artists of the Detroit Tree of Heaven Woodshop in the form of benches and other elements around the museum.
Anyone else have a story about their neighborhood Ailanthus?
Nice! Thanks, Jo, for your picture. It is really a notorious plant, isn’t it? I have read that it is nearly impossible to kill! It reserves much of its resources in its roots and will shoot back up if merely cut down. Funny, I’ve never actually experienced its peculiar smell… only the males have that smell, so perhaps I’ve only run into females yet!
Nice post, Leslie! I’ll check out the Wikipedia article. I’ve been meaning for a while to write about ailanthus… so look for a response from me tomorrow!
Hi there,
great that you like and talk about the Ailanthus, because its my favorite tree! Somehow it always reminds me, that it doesnt matter how bad we treat the environment, there are always plants and animals which can deal with that and will even survive mankind (still I think treating the environment in a good way is the better option;-). Robinia pseudoacacia (german: “Robinie”) is the only tree I know which can do it like the tree of heaven….but still, I prefer the Ailanthus.
A few years ago I wrote an article in german about the tree of heaven for my university magazine. Unfortunately it is not possible to make a direct link …. but if you are interested …. this way ——-> http://www.raumfragen.org/
click: “texte” and choose: “Hederer A.A.” …… enjoy
Greetings from Hamburg——->MAZ
PS: havent ever realized this smell many people talk about …. maybe not everybody can smell it????
Hi Maz,
Thanks for reading and sharing. Nice that the Ailanthus is your favorite tree! I read your article and it is excellent. A lot of the descriptions are quite poetic. I might translate some short passages to post here – would that be ok with you?
I don’t know if our readers have looked at the Iris-a-Maz website but there are interesting projects about urban spaces and plants there.
About the Ailanthus smell, which I noticed that Wikipedia describes as “rotten peanuts or cashews,” I actually never noticed any trees that smell when you don’t touch them. I have only experienced that when trying to cut or pull out the tree, which bruises or crushes leaves and stems, that there is a particular smell.
Maz, thanks for sharing the link to your article! I unfortunately am not a German speaker, but I enjoyed the pictures and I’m sure Leslie will share with me her favorite parts.
But I really enjoyed browsing your artwork onhttp://www.iris-a-maz.de. I like the idea of “herbae urbanae citycruises: a sightseeing tour through wastelands and parkinglots.” For Urban Plant Research’s upcoming exhibition in Brooklyn, we are planning a walk through the neighborhood, pointing out such sights as a highway, a plant-hidden fence, a playground, a tiny city park, and the weeds and tended plants that grow in these places.
Thanks for reading!
Hello Leslie, hello all!
Thanks for a lovely post and an ever so interesting discussion.
The tree really does only smell when cut. The weird thing with ours was that it would lose its stems every autmumn. They would just fall to the ground leaving the “old woody stem” and pop up next year!
Jo, those are not stems it’s losing but its leaves.!
@Leslie: Sure its allright, if you use some passages!
Hi Maz, Great! I’ve found some more Trees of Heaven near my house too, so I’ll be working on a post with some of your writing and these trees…
[…] who sent us photographs of ailanthus altissima, the tree of heaven. He had previously commented on Leslie’s post about the infamous tree, excitedly mentioning that it was his favorite tree and that he had written […]