Ailantus
(from ailanto, referring to its lofty growth). Tree of Heaven. ORD. Xanthoxylaceae. Tall deciduous trees. The stove species will grow freely in a mixture of loam and peat; and the best way to increase these is by pieces of the roots, planted in a pot with their points above the ground, and placed in a hotbed, where they will soon make fine plants.
A. excelsa (tall). fl. whitish green, disposed similar to the following. l. abruptly pinnate, 3ft. long, with ten to fourteen pairs of leaflets coarsely toothed at the base, without glands. h. 66ft. India, 1800. A stove tree. A. glandulosa (glandulous).* fl. whitish green, disposed in large branched, terminal, fascicled panicles, exhaling a disagreeable smell. August. l. impari-pinnate; leaflets coarsely toothed at the base with glands. (The leaves on vigorous young trees are sometimes 6ft. in length.) h. 60ft. China, 1751. This tree grows with great rapidity for the first ten or twelve years, in favourable situations, afterwards its growth is much slower. It is quite hardy, and thrives in almost any soil, though one that is light and somewhat humid, and a sheltered situation, suits it best. It is a very desirable tree for plantations, or to stand singly on lawns, and is easily increased by slips of the roots.