ailanthus

ai·lan·thus

A0155400 (ā-lăn′thəs)n. Any of several deciduous Asian trees of the genus Ailanthus, especially the tree of heaven.

[New Latin Ailanthus, genus name coined (perhaps with influence from Greek anthos, flower) by French botanist René Louiche Desfontaines (1750-1833) from a source in one of the Malayo-Polynesian languages of the coast and islands of Piru Bay, Seram, such as ai lanit, (term used on the south Seram coast), literally "sky tree," the tall tropical Asian tree tree Ailanthus integrifolia : ai, tree (from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kahiw; see cajeput) + lanit, sky (akin to Malay langit, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *laŋit, of Proto-Austronesian origin).]

ailanthus

(eɪˈlænθəs) n, pl -thuses (Plants) an E Asian simaroubaceous deciduous tree, Ailanthus altissima, planted in Europe and North America, having pinnate leaves, small greenish flowers, and winged fruits. Also called: tree of heaven [C19: New Latin, from native name (in Amboina) ai lanto tree (of) the gods]

ai•lan•thus

(eɪˈlæn θəs)

n., pl. -thus•es. any of several wide-spreading trees of the genus Ailanthus, of the quassia family, with long leaves and dense flower clusters, esp. A. altissima (tree of heaven), an urban shade tree. [1788; < New Latin Ailantus, Ailanthus < Central Moluccan ai lanit(o), ai lanit(e)=ai tree, wood + lanit sky]

Thesaurus

Noun

ailanthus - any of several deciduous Asian trees of the genus Ailanthusgenus Ailanthus - small genus of east Asian and Chinese trees with odd-pinnate leaves and long twisted samarasAilanthus altissima, tree of heaven, tree of the gods - deciduous rapidly growing tree of China with foliage like sumac and sweetish fetid flowers; widely planted in United States as a street tree because of its resistance to pollutionangiospermous tree, flowering tree - any tree having seeds and ovules contained in the ovary

ailanthus

(ālăn`thəs), any tree of the genus Ailanthus, native to the warm regions of Asia and Australia. Ailanthus wood is sometimes used for cabinetmaking and for the manufacture of charcoal. The leaves are a source of food for silkworms, and the bark and leaves are used medicinally. Females of a species called tree of heaven, native to China, are widely grown in European and American cities because of their attractive foliage and their resistance to smoke and soot; the male flowers, however, have a disagreeable odor. Ailanthus is classified in the division MagnoliophytaMagnoliophyta
, division of the plant kingdom consisting of those organisms commonly called the flowering plants, or angiosperms. The angiosperms have leaves, stems, and roots, and vascular, or conducting, tissue (xylem and phloem).
..... Click the link for more information. , class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Simaroubaceae.

Ailanthus

a genus of trees of the family Sim-aroubaceae. The leaves are alternating, intricate, and nonparipinnate. The blossoms are small and contained in paniculate racemes. There are about ten species in southern and eastern Asia and in Australia. In the USSR three species are cultivated, including the Ailanthus altissima, or the Chinese ash. It is a fast-growing tree cultivated in the European USSR (primarily in the southern Ukraine), in the Caucasus, and in Middle Asia. It grows well even on dry and stony soils. The wood is used for construction, woodwork, paper production, and fuel. In China, ailanthus leaves are fed to caterpillars of the ailanthus silkworm.

REFERENCE

Derev’ia i kustarniki SSSR, vol. 4. Moscow and Leningrad, 1958.

ailanthus

ai·lan·thus

ailanthus

ai•lan•thus

ailanthus

ailanthus

Ailanthus

REFERENCE

ailanthus

Words related to ailanthus

noun any of several deciduous Asian trees of the genus Ailanthus

Related Words