Berlin: Gardener fighting a losing battle

…with the invincible trees of heaven among the roses on Karl-Marx-Allee in Friedrichshain.

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Ailanthus-stories: Reader photos from Karlsruhe, Germany

We recently received correspondence from Maz, one of our readers in Germany, 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 an article on it a few years ago for his university magazine!

He commented, “Somehow it always reminds me that it doesn’t matter how bad we treat the environment, there are always plants and animals which can deal with that and will even survive mankind.” But he added: “Still I think treating the environment in a good way is the better option.”

I love this photograph above, with the tree of heaven sapling looking so happily squished into its tiny nook. As I wrote in my followup post to Leslie’s, this tree almost seems to prefer growing out of the most restrictive spaces.

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A tree grows in Brooklyn (in the unlikeliest places)

Excited that the topic of discussion had turned to the tree of heaven, I went out yesterday to photograph (in the rain) my favorite specimen of ailanthus altissima so far: a couple of trees growing in a tiny city park that borders the Prospect Highway. Well, actually, describing them as “in” the park isn’t really correct because, typical of this strand of misfit tree, the trunks actually sprout from the ground just beyond the park fence, squished up between it and the wall of the highway! You can see them against the ivy-covered back of the park in the right half of the picture above.

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The comeback tree: Ailanthus altissima, tree of heaven

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.

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