Tree of Heaven Fungus: Here's How to Eradicate Invasive Species

The Ailanthus anltissima is commonly known as the tree of heaven native to China with quill-shaped leaves, red-and-yellow-tinted seeds, light gray bark. it is truly a sight to behold.

Unfortunately, outside of China, the tree has earned the nickname 'tree of hell' because of its highly invasive nature that grows a staggering three feet a year, cloning itself through the hundreds of seeds it produces annually.

The invasive tree of heaven proportionally wipes out native plant species with its dense thicket and toxins excreted into the soil it stands on. Additionally, the flowers emit a foul odor and have no natural predators.

The result, a hotel for invasive and destructive insects like the spotted lanternfly.

How a Single Fungus Could Help Eradicate Destructive Tree of Heaven

The tree of heaven was first introduced to the United States roughly 240 years ago by horticulturists as a botanical specimen. Since then, the destructive tree has spread to almost everywhere in the United States, except for 6 states, and gained a major foothold on every continent except Antarctica.

Luckily, scientists have found a possible weapon that could put an end to the destruction of the invasive tree of hell.

It is a single fungus that kills trees called Verticillium no alfalfa a microscopic organism likely native to Ohio, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Joanne Rebbeck, a retired plant physiologist who previously studied the effects of the fungi on the tree of heaven says that researchers have discovered the fungus as an Achilles heel.

Researchers are now experimenting using a single fungus to eradicate the destructive tree of heave by directly injecting the pathogen into the plant.

The results published in the journal Biological Control entitled, "Field-inoculated Ailanthus altissima stands reveal the biological control potential of Verticillium nonalfalfae in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States," reveals that the fungus was highly effective in controlling the devastation of the tree of heaven.

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Tree of Heaven as a Bug Motel for Invasive Insects

Ailanthus is plaguing North American forests, pushing native plants like red oaks out and damaging farmlands and infrastructures by wrecking pavements, sewers, and building foundations.

The tree of heaven thrives in human-disturbed and dire-damaged areas including highways. Once the invasive tree takes root, it is virtually impossible to remove.

The Ailanthus, in its first year, grows by 8 feet, that clones itself either by underground root "sucker" or via thousands of windblown seeds. The tree of hell that lives for almost a century can reach heights of 70 feet.

To make matters worse, the tree of heaven acts like a bug motel for invasive and destructive insects like the Asiatic shot-hole borer, and brown marmorated stink bug that damages US forests especially maple species and many commercial crops.

One of the most detrimental and prolific invasive insects in North America, the spotted lanternfly, is mostly attracted to the tree of heaven. Both the insect and the tree of heaven originated in China and have reconnected, as explained by Kristen Wicker, a co-author of the study.