| 释义 |
‖ ailanthus Bot.|eɪˈlænθəs|
Also ailante, ailanto, ailantus.
[f. Aylanto, the native Amboyna name, said to mean ‘Tree of the gods,’ or ‘of heaven,’ whence mod.L. Ailantus (in English often corrupted to Ailanthus, as if the termination contained Gr. ἄνθος flower), Fr. ailante.]
A large East Indian tree (family Simarubaceae or Xanthoxylaceæ), grown in S. Europe for ornament and shade, the pinnated leaves of which are the favourite food of a species of silk-worm. ‘The name ‘Japan Varnish’ seems to have been applied to it through some mistake.’ Also ailanthus-tree.
1807T. Martyn Miller's Gardener's & Botanist's Dict. I. i. sig. Pi/1, The Ailanthus grows very fast in our climate, and..is proper for ornamental plantations. 1845Hirst Poems 158 O'er me let a green Ailanthus grow..the Tree of Heaven. 1853Harper's Mag. VI. 848/2 The poor Ailanthus-tree has..been outlawed by Congress. 1861Times 23 July, This silkworm lives in the open air on a very hardy plant called the ‘ailante,’ or Japan varnish tree. 1866C. A. Johns in Treas. Bot. 32 Ailantus, the Vernis du Japon of the French..is in its native countries, China and India, called Ailanto. Its German name Götterbaum is said to be a translation of Ailanto. 1878Black Green Past. & Picc. xxx. 240 The acacia-looking ailanthus along the pavements. 1936J. dos Passos Big Money 259 An unwashed window that looked out on cindery backyards and a couple of ailanthustrees. 1941T. S. Eliot Dry Salvages i. 7 The rank ailanthus of the April dooryard. 1974K. Millett Flying (1975) ii. 197 An ailanthus, the only ratlike tree that can grow in our soil. 1975New Yorker 31 Mar. 35/3 It faces south and is at eye level with chimney pots and the tops of ailanthus trees. |