Ailanthus altissima: Tree-of-Heaven

This non-native deciduous tree will rapidly grow to 70 to 100 feet in height and produces an open canopy of stout branches covered with one- to three-foot-long, pinnately compound, dark green leaves. Broken stems smell of rancid peanut butter, and males reportedly smell worse than female trees. The leaves turn only slightly yellow in fall before dropping. The small, green, male and female flowers are produced on separate trees and appear in dense, terminal clusters. The 1.5-inch-long, yellow to red/brown, winged fruits that follow the blossoms will persist on the tree in dense clusters throughout the fall and into the winter months, and are quite attractive. They can create a crunchy mess when they fall to the ground. Seeds sprout easily and seedlings usually invade surrounding land.