Varnish tree
Ailanthus altissima · Simaroubaceae · 가죽나무
Look
- Leaves
- Alternate, odd-pinnate compound leaves up to 60 to 80 cm long with 13 to 25 leaflets; the lower half of each leaflet has 2 to 4 teeth with glands.
- Flowers
- In June to August, greenish-white flowers bloom in panicles 10 to 30 cm long at the twig tips.
- Fruit
- Samaras are thin and lanceolate, 3 to 4 cm long, with one seed in the middle of the wing; they ripen in September to October and stay on until spring.
- Bark
- The trunk is straight; the bark is gray-brown and stays unfissured for a long time.
Where it grows
- Native to
- Found throughout Korea.
- Ecology
- Grows vigorously along roads and on bare land where there is no upper canopy; strongly tolerates cold, salt, drought and air pollution. Growth is fast.