Ailanthus excelsa

Scientific Name: Ailanthus excelsa

Family: Simaroubaceae (Quassia family)

Common Names: Indian Tree of Heaven, Coramandel ailanto, Mahanimb, Maharukh

Indian Tree of Heaven is a large deciduous tree; trunk straight, bark light grey and smooth, becoming grey-brown and rough on large trees, aromatic, slightly bitter. Leaves alternate, pinnately compound, large; leaflets 8-14 or more pairs, long stalked, ovate or broadly lance shaped from very unequal base, 6-10 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, often curved, long pointed, hairy gland; edges coarsely toothed and often lobed. Flower clusters droop at leaf bases, shorter than leaves, much branched; flowers many, mostly male and female on different trees, short stalked, greenish-yellow. Five sepals, 5 narrow petals spreading 6 mm across. Fruit a 1-seeded samara, lance shaped, flat, pointed at ends, 5 cm long, 1 cm wide, copper red, strongly veined, twisted at the base. The genus name Ailanthus comes from ailanthos (tree of heaven), the Indonesian name for Ailanthus moluccana.

Medicinal Uses: The bark is used in tonic and in treatment of cough, cold, bronchitis, and infertility, curing wounds and sores (bark decoction); on rashes (leaf and bark); to treat asthma and bronchitis, and as an astringent for diarrhoea and dysentery. It is also used against skin diseases and as tonic and abortifacient agent. The leaves are used in rheumatism and postnatal care.