Ailanthus excelsa
Family : Simaroubaceae
Common Name : Indian Tree of Heaven
English Name : Indian Tree of Heaven
Hindi Name : Mahanimb, Maharukh
Telugu Name : Pedda
Bengali Name : Ardu, Ardusi
Tree Characteristics :
Ailanthus excelsa is a deciduous tree growing 18 - 25 metres tall. The straight, cylindrical bole can be 60 - 80cm in diameter. The tree is planted along the sides of roads to provide shelter, and is often found in rows at the edges of farms or streams.Drought Tolerant and Fast-Growing Species.
Nursery Practice :
Mature pods are usually blown away by wind. Therefore the seeds should be collected, when they are pale yellow in colour, from the tree, by lopping the fruiting twig . Since the winged seeds are light in weight, they are easily blown away by wind. The seeds are, therefore, dried on a clean surface with a covering of net/cloth to prevent them, from being blown away. Wings are removed by beating and the seeds cleaned by winnowing. Soaking in 2.5% potassium nitrate increase germination parameters and vigour index . Fresh seeds are sown in plastic trays filled with vermiculite and watered. The seedlings are pricked out into polybags of 22.5 x 17.5 cm size filled with potting mixture. The seedlings will be ready for planting within three months, as the growth is very Seed Weight is 4,200 to 18,000 seeds/kg. Germination is 70 to 80 percent and the time taken for germination is 10 to 20 days.
Economic Uses :
The wood is used for manufacturing news print, in the match box industry and in the manufacture of packing cases. It is cultivated as an avenue tree for its deep shade and can be used for anti-erosion purposes. The wood is used in boxes, crates, poles, fishing floats, tool handles, matches and drums. The bark yields a gum of inferior quality.
Medicianal : The leaves, bark and gum are of medicinal value. Leaves are specially used in asthma, bronchitis, dyspepsia in the treatment of weakness after child birth.The methanol extract of stem barks of Ailanthus excelsa partitioned with chloroform extract shows fungistatic and fungicidal activity. Extracts of the root bark shows antitumour and cytotoxic activities. Ailanthus excelsa bark is used for constipation.
