There always appear to be unintended consequences to well-intentioned acts. This was brought to mind a few weeks ago when I read an article about invasive non-native plants. The two culprits in the article were ailanthus and kudzu. I knew that ailanthus grew on a rooftop in Brooklyn. I had read Betty Smith's novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, when I was a teen. I thought that was as close as I had ever come to the plant. Of course kudzu was smothering the South.

The article stated that both plants were displacing native plants in the county where I live. I don't quite believe kudzu is a local disaster in the making and the article didn't suggest where I might find it. It did state that ailanthus lined our roadways. This was something that could be easily checked.

The article described the tree adequately for identification purposes. I checked a couple of reference books and learned in painful detail how the tree looked and smelled. It resembles the native sumac when it is young. It can mature into a tree between 50 and 75 feet high.

Armed with this knowledge I decided to try to find an ailanthus tree. The first one was less than a quarter of a mile from our home. The second was only a few feet further away. The count soon became dozens and then, had I been actually counting, hundreds. The roadside for miles was lined with ailanthus altissima, the Tree of Heaven.

Ailanthus are native to China. It was brought here in 1754 according to most sources. Other sources put the date at 1907. It was imported as (1) a landscape ornamental or (2) to feed silk worms. Your choice. It is called Tree of Heaven because (1) Buddha found enlightenment under this tree or (2) it is tall. Altissima means tall. Again your choice.

Indisputable is that fact that it grows fast. Young trees can make six feet of growth in a single season. It can grow easily where other plants struggle. Suckers sprout from the roots and form copses. Ailanthus are survivors.

Although once sold as a landscape ornamental, ailanthus has little if any commercial value. As with other rapidly growing trees the wood is soft and weak. It is invasive. The foliage has an unpleasant smell when crushed and the blossoms of the male tree have a vile smell. I found it interesting that ailanthus is dioecious, but not always. Dioecious means the plant is either male or female. However, some ailanthus bear male and female blossoms.

Although there are many projects dedicated to eliminating ailanthus from our roadsides, it has its defenders who argue it grows where nothing else can grow. It is true that nothing else can grow where ailanthus is growing, but there are native plants that could grow where ailanthus is growing. They just can't compete successfully with ailanthus.

Ailanthus cannot tolerate shade and is therefore confined to roadsides and edges. It moves easily from these edges into fields and landscapes. It isn't likely that projects to eliminate ailinthus can succeed other than locally and thus temporarily. Check your landscape. You may be the owner of the Tree of Heaven.