I will tell you a story, just as it happened: I will share the initial discovery, the findings, which I have gathered along the way, and I will share my conclusions with you.
What you will do with all of it, is up to you.
The Discovery
It all began with a mysterious young tree without any leaves, which made it look like a straight up letter “Y.” Months later, the sight of its first leaves was a happy occasion, finally allowing for a long-awaited identifying of the enigmatic newcomer.
The preliminary research pointed to it being something called “Tree of Heaven” — now, there’s a name for a tree! I was delighted that something of such a beautiful name took root on our soil! Only later that day, in the evening, did I learn what lurks behind the poetic notation. The immediate and evident outcome was a detailed digging operation, right there and then — at midnight — with flash lights, plastic bags, and determination. But, I am getting ahead of myself.
The Research
- Tree of Heaven, or Ailanthus altissima, is an invasive species. In fact, it is one of the worst invasive plant species in Europe and North America!
It is swift in colonizing a once disturbed area, then it suppress its competition with allelopathic chemicals, meaning: it releases chemical compounds into the environment, inhibiting the germination, growth, or reproduction of neighboring organisms. - It is considered a noxious weed.
“A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is harmful to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or livestock. Most noxious weeds have been introduced into an ecosystem by ignorance, mismanagement, or accident.”
- Cutting it is meaningless. It is quick to resprout.
- Female trees are prolific seeders, with the potential to produce more than 300,000 seeds annually. Sprouts as young as two years of age are capable of producing seed.
- Aggressive root suckers extend the spread as far as 15m away from the parent tree, creating dense colonies of established trees.
- The roots of the plant are poisonous to humans. The tree is generally considered poisonous to domestic animals and can cause allergic reactions in humans.
- The only reason for that beautiful name — “Tree of Heaven” — is its spectacular growth, poetically seen as a relentless reaching toward the sky, or the heavens… however, in knowledge of all the above, this stellar growth is nothing but an additional problem. In face of all facts and details, summa summarum, an accurate epithet for this speciman would rather be “Tree of Hell”.
- When crushed, the leaves emit a distinct offensive odor that can compare to cat urine or burnt peanut butter.
- The bark of tree-of-heaven is light brown to gray, resembling the skin of a cantaloupe. As the tree ages, the bark turns darker gray and becomes rough.
- The twigs can be easily broken to expose the large spongy brown center or pith. It admits the same unpleasant odor as the crushed leaves.
- Ailanthus altissima @Wikipedia [link]
- Tree of Heaven @Pennstate Extension [link]
- Review on Invasive Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle) Conflicting Values: Assessment of Its Ecosystem Services and Potential Biological Threat [link]
- Invasive Plant Factsheet: Tree-of-heaven [link]
- The toxic Tree of Heaven… @The Guardian [link]
- Shall we keep our fruit trees? - November 6, 2025
It is a tree which has been much admired for its ability to grow out of cement (❗) or thrive in difficult circumstances. In her book “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” Betty Smith writes:“There’s a tree that grows in Brooklyn. Some people call it the Tree of Heaven. No matter where its seed falls, it makes a tree which struggles to reach the sky. It grows in boarded up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps. It grows up out of cellar gratings. It is the only tree that grows out of cement. It grows lushly…survives without sun, water, and seemingly earth. It would be considered beautiful except that there are too many of it.”
And just so, you can also see it sprouting and growing around the streets of Boka. None of this is hypothetical.
So, I guess the real question is: Do we like our fruit-bearing trees? Do we want to keep them?
Do you like 🫒 olives, 🍊 oranges, 🍋 lemons, and loquats?
Ailanthus altissima does not play well with others. It is an invasive species, and prefers a grandiose mono-culture of itself. Not to mention, it is beneficial to the spotted lanternfly, an invasive planthopper with a taste for 🍇 grapes, 🍒 stone fruits and apples. 🍎
But, before you rush off to get YOUR axe or shovel, a couple of important details:
1. Make sure you are really dealing with Ailanthus altissima.
With the below tips, you will have no trouble identifying it.
2. Know how to do it!
This is important, for if you just fell it, or remove it like you would any other tree, you may end up encouraging the nuisance.
1. Identifying a Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
Additionally to the purely visual way of identifying the tree, here are a few surefire methods: 
2. How to properly remove the Ailanthus altissima tree
Do NOT simply cut it.
Ailanthus responds to being cut by launching root suckers, which can travel far — up to 15m away from the parent plant.
It will also sprout new shoots from the trunk, so cutting it doesn’t take care of anything at all.
The only way to be rid of it, is to remove it — completely.
If the tree is young, you need to manually get out the whole thing — roots and all. Do not damage it during the extraction operation, and leave NOTHING behind. Be thorough.
That is what we did — instantaneously. Waiting for the sun to rise seemed like a waste of precious time, when it could all be done right there and then!
If the tree is already established, opinions vary from “it’s too late” across to poisoning methods over long periods of time. Yes, it’s a tough one, so removing them before they grow tall is ideal.
If you want, you can help another, and be happy, too.”
(from "Weird Genius, The Story of Your Ankh")
