Ailanthus excelsa Roxb.

Taxonomy: Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Sapindales > Simaroubaceae > Ailanthus > A. excelsa

Description: Trees, to 25 m high, bark light greyish-brown, fibrous or glandular, rough. Leaves pari or imparipinnate, alternate, estipulate. Rachis stout, swollen at base, pubescent; leaflets 13-29, sub opposite; petiole slender, pubescent; lamina variable in shape, mostly ovate-lanceolate, base unequal or truncate, apex acute or acuminate, margin irregularly and coarsely dentate, membranous, pubescent; lateral nerves 12-20 pairs, pinnate, prominent, intercostae reticulate, prominent. Flowers polygamous, 8 mm across, yellowish, in subterminal panicles, emits foetid smell; male flowers: pedicels long, slender; sepals 5, ovate, pubescent; petals 5, ovate-lanceolate, reflexed; disc 10 lobed; stamens 10, inserted at the base disc; filaments shorter than anthers; anthers oblong; pistillode rudimentary; bisexual flowers: sepals, petals and disc as in male flowers; stamens 2 or 3; ovary 2-5, partite, superior, sparsely hairy, ovule 1 in each cell; style free or connate; stigmas curling. Fruit a samara, prominently veined, oblong, copper red, twisted at base.

Flowering and Fruiting: December - July

Uses: Ayurveda, Folk medicine, Siddha. The tree is planted for the soft wood and fodder and also cultivated as avenue tree. Softwood used to make Rajasthani puppets, match sticks and used to make catamarans. Wood is soft and poor for fuel. Leaves and bark used in medicinal preparations. Bark used in veterinary medicine.

Cultivation: Generally found in cultivated areas only, seldom in forests.

References

http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org

https://indiabiodiversity.org