Herbarium JCB

Ailanthus excelsa Roxb.

Family : SIMAROUBACEAE
(QUASSIA FAMILY)
Family (as per The Plant List) : Simaroubaceae
Species : Ailanthus excelsa
Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Ailanthus excelsa Roxb.
Common name : Heaven Tree, Tree of Heaven
Vernacular name : Maharuk, Ghorneem (Hin.); Heb'bevu, Moosi mara (Kan.); Pee maram, Perumaram (Tam.); Pedda maanu (Tel.); Mahanim, Mahal, Mahalimba (Ori.)
Key identification features : A lofty tree with large pinnately compound alternate leaves, which are crowded at the branch ends. Bark light greyish-brown, fibrous or granular, rough. Leaflets are about 8-14 pairs, very variable in shape and with irregularly toothed margin. Flowers are small and appear in large lax often with much-branched inflorescences, unisexual and greenish-yellow. Fruits are winged and wings with many nerves.
Habit : Tree
Flower, Fruit : December-July
Native : India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan
Comments : On plains to hills up to 1000 m in scrub and deciduous forests. Often planted for the softwood which is used in the maufacture of match sticks, catamarans etc.
Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
Distribution Locality : Visakhapatnam district, East Godavari district, West Godavari district, Srikakulam district, Kurnool district (Andhra Pradesh State); Ganjam district (Odisha State)
World Distribution : India, Sri Lanka
Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1; J.L.Ellis, 1987- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 1; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1 ; R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District ; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District; Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983.; Naidu, M.T. & O.A. Kumar (2015). Tree species diversity in the Eastern Ghats of northern Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 7(8): 7443-7459
Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Arun Singh R., Deepak Kumar, Raja K Swamy and Navendu Page (2016). Digital Flora of Eastern Ghats. http://easternghats.ces.iisc.ernet.in/plants.php?name=Ailanthus excelsa. Downloaded on 28 September 2024.