by Rachel Aronson
Despite its nickname, “the tree of heaven,” the ailanthus
is not universally beloved. It is not planted in garden beds, on streets,
or in parks. There are 22 types of permitted street trees in New York City , where I live, and the Tree of
Heaven is not one of them.
The Tree of Heaven is most famous for being the titular Tree
that grows in Brooklyn :
“There's a tree that grows in Brooklyn .
Some people call it the Tree of Heaven. No matter where its seed falls, it
makes a tree which struggles to reach the sky. It grows in boarded-up lots and
out of neglected rubbish heaps… It would be considered beautiful except
that there are too many of it.” (Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn )
As a fan of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and an amateur
urban naturalist, I resolved to find the tree when I moved to Brooklyn .
My search was, at first, entirely unsuccessful. The majestic trees lining
brownstone streets were honey locust, oak, but never ailanthus. Bike rides down
tree- lined corridors found London
planes and tulip trees, but never ailanthus.
A bit of Googling shed some light on my problem; the
ailanthus is considered a weed tree. Quickly growing, with pods that produce
millions of seeds, it’s the tree equivalent of a dandelion.
So I started looking for the ailanthus in places where trees
aren’t planted. And found them: in the middle of the subway tracks, growing out
of abandoned lots, on uncultivated roadsides. Where no money had entered to
beautify or to plant, there was the ailanthus.
A friend of mine recently relayed a Midrash about Moshe and
the burning bush. To find the leader of the Jewish people, G-d set up a fire in
a bush that was not consumed. Shepherds came and went, their minds on other
things, and overlooked it. Moshe was the first to see the bush for what it was
- a miracle. And for this observation and appreciation, he was chosen as a
great leader.
If left unchecked, the ailanus has been known to wreck
havock. It’s an invasive species; its roots overtake sewer systems, its
branches intercept telephone lines. I am not advocating for an end to
thoughtful land management practices. Simply an appreciation of what is around
us, a reminder to notice. To notice not just the beauty that’s obvious before
us, but to pause and see the beauty that we’ve been overlooking - that which
might be considered a weed.
What will you notice today?
Rachel Aronson is the Sustainability and Community
Engagement Associate at Hazon. You can reach her at rachel.aronson@hazon.org.
How lovely to read about the "tree of heaven". I was barely aware of this tree until I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn a couple of years ago. then I started paying attention to it.
ReplyDeleteI found it grows wild a lot in various urban and suburban areas of northeast Massachusetts, and that I have been getting it confused with staghorn sumac. A wild foods teacher told those of on a walk that you recognize it by the "Cheerios" smell of the crushed foliage.
I adore weeds! I love all those ignored plants so much, and feel sorry for people that are unable to see the beauty of the vast array of weeds/plants that call out to me when I am walking, out and about, or in my garden.