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NOTE: there is rarely any "standard" or "typical" look for a wood so take what's in this table with a grain of salt the REST of the pictures on this page will give you a better overall feel for this wood

ailanthus Ailanthus altissima of the family Simaroubaceae, the quassia family 3" x 3" flat cut, 3" x 3" quartersawn, 3/4" wide end grain, and a 1/4" x 1/4" end grain closeup. Ring porous with a thin row of large earlywood pores dropping immediately to very small pores showing varying amounts of confluence in the latewood (generally at the end of the latewood but sometimes earlier). Rays vary in width but some are prominent and easily visible with the naked eye. Because of the size of the earlywood pores, it is common to see some "feathering" around the growth rings on flat cut surfaces such as the one shown here. This is an urban tree (tree-of-heaven), planted worldwide and sometimes considered an invasive weed tree. It has a fairly light and quite porous, grainy, wood with a strong grain pattern due to the large open pores. The tree is widely known as one of the fastest growing in the world and consequently it's common to see quite wide growth rings. janka hardness: Ailanthus altissima 1420

my samples: NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K) colors will vary under other lighting conditions

both sides of a sample plank of ailanthus / Ailanthus altissima --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


both sides of a sample plank of ailanthus / Ailanthus altissima --- HUGE enlargements are present. This was cut from one of the long planks down at the bottom of my samples


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above



both sides and both ends of a sample piece listed as Ailanthus altissima. There is water damage and missing pith.


end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above --- this piece was moistened to get the rays to show up better (dry, the colors did not separate enough) and that's the main reason for the orangish color.


both sides of a sample plank of ailanthus / Ailanthus altissima --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contribution to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


NOT A RAW WOOD COLOR --- both faces of this sample have a light coat of clear paste wax
both sides of a sample plank of tree of heaven / Ailanthus altissima --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above


first face and the end grain of a sample of ailanthus. This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION B. This is one of the few samples in this collection that has additional information stamped in the reverse end, in this case an alternate spelling of the common name.


the second face, before and after slicing off 1/8" showing how the patina from aging is only surface deep. Note how large the pith is.


end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above.


planks and closeup


END GRAIN UPDATE of a sample cut from this plank and done just so I'd have another sample for the anatomy pages.


planks and closeup


planks and closeup


small plank, cut from the larger one above and sanded for the pic, and an end grain shot


end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above

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The Wood Book pics


flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
ailanthus (Ailanthus glandulosus) from The Wood Book --- enlargement available for each of the 3 views

web pics:

log end and closeup, very nicely illustrating the wide growth rings (this is not known for sure to be ailanthus, but that was the concensus on a wood forum, and the wide growth rings are certainly indicative but the other possibility is mulberry)


log end and the log it came from


plank listed as ailanthus / Ailanthus altissima --- the size is approximately 3" x 1.25" and both levels of enlargement are present so the grain shows up very nicely


planks


sets of planks from the same vendor --- these are the planks from which many of my own samples above are taken. As you can see up in my section, these pieces are more yellowish than the orange-tinted, BUT ... to be fair, tree of heaven often has a pink to salmon hue when freshly milled (it fades as the wood seasons)


a set of planks, all from the same vendor and all listed as ailanthus / Ailanthus altissima --- the color is way too rich


a set of bowl blanks from the same vendor as the planks directly above and with the same color misrepresentation. These were also listed as ailanthus / Ailanthus altissima


turning stock


two views of a spalted bowl blank


vase and bowl


tree of heaven bowls turned and photographed by Tom Pleatman, whom I thank for these pics and other contributions to the site. Big enlargements are present.