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Ailanthus altissima
Tree of Heaven
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Photographer: Dr. Amadej Trnkoczy
ID: 0000 0000 0114 0218 (2014-01-04)Copyright © 2014 Dr. Amadej Trnkoczy
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INFORMATION PROVIDED WITH THE PHOTO
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date of photo Aug 4, 2013
latitude 46.36171 longitude 13.70444
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location
Lower Trenta valley, between villages Soča and Trenta, near abandoned homestead 'Koc', Trenta 3, East Julian Alps (Posočje, Slovenia)family
Simaroubaceae
notes Slo.:veliki pajesen, primorska smrdljivka - Habitat: Overgrown former garden and grassland; dominant species Ailanthus altissima, Fraxinus ornus, Corylus avellana; next to an abandoned farmhouse; flat terrain, calcareous ground; relatively dry and warm place; average precipitation ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 7-9 deg C, elevation 600 m (2.000 feet), alpine phytogeographical region. - Substratum: stony, shallow soil. - Comment: Growing in dense 'monoculture' thickets. This is probably the invasive plant, which most aggressively changes the cultural landscape in the upper Soča river region today. Now abandoned, but in past centuries man-made, grassland, modes stony fields and gardens around abandoned farmhouses as well as road sides and river banks and all other semi-ruderal ground are under its attack. It doesn’t spreads only by seeds (a big tree can produce 300.000 winged, wind dispersed, seeds) but also with fast growing underground root sprouts. Therefore it conquers new land advancing in a tight FWW 'front line'. At the same time the tree prevents growth of other competing plants making the ground poisonous for them. It can overgrow cultural land together with abandoned farmhouses (see Fig. 9) in a decade. It's almost impossible to control it. Cutting it only encourages a plethora of root sprouts. Pulling it doesn't help since each small fragment of the roots left results in new sprouts. Several fungal pathogens are under investigation as possible control agent. In mid eighteen century gardeners, not knowing what they were doing, brought it from China to Europe. - Ref.: (1) A. Martinči et all., Mala Flora Slovenije, Tehnična Založba Slovenije (2007), p 339. (2) M.A. Fischer, W. Adler, K. Oswald, Exkursionsflora Österreich, Liechtenstein und Südtirol, LO Landesmuseen, Linz, Austria (2005), p 595. (3) K. Lauber and G. Wagner, Flora Helvetica, 5. Auflage, Haupt (2012), p 552. (4) S.R. Kaufman, W. Kaufman, Invasive plants, Stackpole Books (2012), pp 104-107.camera Canon G11, 6.1-30mm/f2.8-4.5
contributor's ID # Bot_738/2013_IMG3784 photo category: Plant - annual/perennial
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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS PLANT
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Tree of Heaven (photographer)
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For other uses, or if you have questions, contact Dr. Amadej Trnkoczy amadej.trnkoczy[AT]siol.net. (Replace the [AT] with the @ symbol before sending an email.) |
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