Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_ailanthus_altissima
Tree of Heaven
Ailanthus altissima
Open this record in the interactive Atlas
About Tree of Heaven
Ailanthus altissima is an introduced tree with a Kauaʻi report dated 2011 in Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist appendix. The reviewed sources do not establish current island presence or naturalization. Its management-watch status remains unresolved. Deciduous tree with pale gray bark and very large alternate pinnately compound leaves bearing 11–41 lanceolate leaflets. Leaflet margins are otherwise entire, but each asymmetric base bears one or more coarse gland-tipped teeth. Female trees carry drooping clusters of flat, narrow, slightly twisted one-seeded samaras that mature from green through muted reddish tones to tan-brown.
Kauaʻi evidence
Bishop Museum Technical Report 75 (2025) reports a Kauaʻi record from 2011. This historical record does not establish current survival, establishment or extent. The card is excluded from the verified extant census; generated imagery is not occurrence evidence.
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Ailanthus altissima
- Common names
- Tree of Heaven
- Other names
- tree-of-heaven · Tree of Heaven · stink tree · Chinese sumac · Ailanthus glandulosa · Ailanthus altissima
- Record type
- species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Recorded on Kauaʻi
- Origin
- Introduced
- Conservation status
- Invasive-species management concern
- Evidence date
- 2026-10-05
- Evidence limits
- Current Kauaʻi presence, survival, naturalization and extent remain unconfirmed.
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Terrestrial / managed landscapes / native ecosystems
- Food and resource needs
- Taxon-specific requirements under review
- Reproduction
- Not yet assessed
- Shelter
- Terrestrial / managed landscapes / native ecosystems
- Growth form
- Tree
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Terrestrial / managed landscapes / native ecosystems
- Conservation actions
- eradication / containment / prevention — exact island objective requires live reconciliation
- Monitoring
- eradication / containment / prevention — exact island objective requires live reconciliation
- Data gaps
- Live extent/status and canonical linkage must be refreshed against current Atlas/agency data before final public release. · Establishment requirements need review
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Not yet assessed
- Seasonal description
- Ailanthus altissima is an introduced tree with a Kauaʻi report dated 2011 in Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist appendix. The reviewed sources do not establish current island presence or naturalization. Its management-watch status remains unresolved. Deciduous tree with pale gray bark and very large alternate pinnately compound leaves bearing 11–41 lanceolate leaflets. Leaflet margins are otherwise entire, but each asymmetric base bears one or more coarse gland-tipped teeth. Female trees carry drooping clusters of flat, narrow, slightly twisted one-seeded samaras that mature from green through muted reddish tones to tan-brown.
Sources and further reading
- Invasive-species management source
- https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/ailalt
- https://research.fs.usda.gov/silvics/ailanthus
- https://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/publications/pdf/tr75.pdf
- https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/su/su_srs047.pdf
- https://home.nps.gov/shen/learn/nature/tree-of-heaven.htm
- https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:813521-1/images