Ailanthus altissima (Miller) Swingle in J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 6: 495. 1916. Toxicodendron altissima Miller, Gard. Dict. ed. 8, no. 10. 1768. Ailanthus glandulosa Desf. in Mem. Acad. Sci. (Paris) 1786: 265, t. 8. 1788; A.W. Bennett in Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 1: 518. 1875.

Deciduous trees, 20 - 25 m high. Leaves 30 - 50 cm long, pubescent or glabrous; leaflets 4 - 10 pairs, lanceolate, obliquely divided by midnerve, base with 2 - 4 teeth; each with a large gland beneath, acuminate, 5 - 15 x 1.5 - 5 cm. Flowers greenish, small, in 10 - 20 cm long panicles. Calyx lobes ca 1 mm long. Petals 2 - 4 mm long. Filaments filiform. Ovary glabrous, ca 1.5 mm long; styles connate up to middle; stigma peltate, 5-lobed. Samaras reddish when young, linear-oblong, 3 - 5 x 0.6 - 1.2 cm, membranous, somewhat spirally twisted; seed single.

Fl. & Fr. April - Aug.

Distrib. India: Introduced tree but naturalised on hills in north-western India up to 1800 m. Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

China. Cultivated and naturalised in temperate and tropical regions.

Notes. In N. India it is often planted as an ornamental and avenue tree.