Ailanthus Altissima

My beloved's neighbour has a large tree in his backyard - of course he has several, but there is a particular one that I did not pay much attention to until recently. the same variety grows in another neighbour's yard too - a specimen about six feet tall. I did not notice this tree until a few months ago, when my beloved and I discovered a specimen growing out of one of the basement window-wells, through a crack barely an inch wide.

He didn't want the plant there, for fear it would cause a rupture, so he tore it out and threw it away and thought no more of it. A month later we found the plant had shot up bright back, as though it had never left, about a foot and half tall. He cut it out and threw it out again. The root system remained however, and sure enough, a month later, it was back.

This time, at my behest, he pulled it out as gently as he could and replanted it in another corner of the garden. We also relocated another sapling that I found growing in a rather clumsy place under the deck.

Three months later, both saplings are sturdy and thriving. It has rained several times in the past three months, which I'm sure has done nothing but encourage the young trees. What's more, we found several more saplings sprouting up all over the front and back yards last week, including one very sturdy specimen already three feet tall.

It almost seemed as though this tree was propagating via the root system. It is a common asexual method of reproduction in various plant species. A lot of weeds usually propagate this way, hence leading to my beloved dubbing the plant, "the weed tree". I chose to bestow that more colourful title of "the slutty tree". My beloved suggested going online to find the real name. In the spirit of research, I did.

Ailanthus altissima, it is called. The history and survival of this species is rather interesting. So that I may not unnecessarily repeat what has already been written about this one, you may read all about it here on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ailanthus_altissima All I'll say is, there's something pretty remarkable about a tree that could survive the Hiroshima atomic bombing, especially at such close range as 300 metres. It's often said cockroaches will the be the only survivors in the event of a nuclear World War III - but Ailanthus will likely survive too, and revegetate the planet.

There's some comfort in the thought, I think, that organic life will not completely be destroyed. But there's coldness too, given that I and my species won't be amongst the survivors.

For now, I'll just watch my slutty trees grow. In about three years, if they survive the winter snow, we'll have some decent shade in the backyard.