Ailanthus altissima
E588784
Ailanthus altissima, commonly known as the tree of heaven, is a fast-growing deciduous tree native to China that is now widespread and often invasive in many temperate regions worldwide.
All labels observed (2)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Ailanthus | 3 |
| Ailanthus altissima canonical | 3 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T6381661 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Ailanthus altissima Context triple: [Simaroubaceae, containsTaxon, Ailanthus altissima]
-
A.
Rhus
Rhus is a genus of flowering plants commonly known as sumacs, which includes shrubs and small trees often recognized for their compound leaves and clusters of red or white berries.
-
B.
Cotinus
Cotinus is a small genus of ornamental shrubs and small trees, commonly known as smoke trees or smoke bushes, valued for their colorful foliage and distinctive, hazy flower plumes.
-
C.
Aesculus
Aesculus is a genus of deciduous trees and shrubs commonly known as buckeyes and horse chestnuts, valued for their showy flowers and distinctive large seeds.
-
D.
Broussonetia
Broussonetia is a small genus of deciduous trees and shrubs in the mulberry family, best known for the paper mulberry used traditionally for making paper and cloth.
-
E.
Liquidambar
Liquidambar is a genus of deciduous trees, commonly known as sweetgums, valued for their star-shaped leaves and vibrant autumn foliage.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Ailanthus altissima Target entity description: Ailanthus altissima, commonly known as the tree of heaven, is a fast-growing deciduous tree native to China that is now widespread and often invasive in many temperate regions worldwide.
-
A.
Rhus
Rhus is a genus of flowering plants commonly known as sumacs, which includes shrubs and small trees often recognized for their compound leaves and clusters of red or white berries.
-
B.
Cotinus
Cotinus is a small genus of ornamental shrubs and small trees, commonly known as smoke trees or smoke bushes, valued for their colorful foliage and distinctive, hazy flower plumes.
-
C.
Aesculus
Aesculus is a genus of deciduous trees and shrubs commonly known as buckeyes and horse chestnuts, valued for their showy flowers and distinctive large seeds.
-
D.
Broussonetia
Broussonetia is a small genus of deciduous trees and shrubs in the mulberry family, best known for the paper mulberry used traditionally for making paper and cloth.
-
E.
Liquidambar
Liquidambar is a genus of deciduous trees, commonly known as sweetgums, valued for their star-shaped leaves and vibrant autumn foliage.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (70)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
deciduous tree
ⓘ
tree species ⓘ vascular plant ⓘ |
| ailanthoneEffect | inhibits growth of other plants ⓘ |
| barkColor | gray ⓘ |
| barkTexture | smooth when young ⓘ |
| chemicalProperty | produces allelopathic compounds ⓘ |
| climatePreference | temperate climates ⓘ |
| commonName |
Chinese sumac
ⓘ
ailanthus ⓘ tree of heaven ⓘ |
| conservationStatus | not globally threatened ⓘ |
| describedBy | Carl Peter Thunberg ⓘ |
| ecologicalRole | pioneer species ⓘ |
| family | Simaroubaceae ⓘ |
| flowerSex | usually dioecious ⓘ |
| flowerType | small yellowish-green flowers ⓘ |
| fruitType | samara ⓘ |
| genus |
Ailanthus
ⓘ
linked to:
Ailanthus altissima
|
| growthRate | fast-growing ⓘ |
| habitat |
abandoned lots
ⓘ
railway embankments ⓘ roadsides ⓘ urban areas ⓘ |
| historicalUse |
ornamental tree
ⓘ
street tree ⓘ |
| impact |
alters plant community composition
ⓘ
competes with native vegetation ⓘ forms dense thickets ⓘ |
| introducedTo |
Australia
ⓘ
Europe ⓘ New Zealand ⓘ North America ⓘ many temperate regions worldwide ⓘ |
| invasiveStatus |
invasive species in Europe
ⓘ
invasive species in North America ⓘ invasive species in many temperate regions ⓘ |
| kingdom | Plantae ⓘ |
| leafLength | up to 60 cm or more ⓘ |
| leafPersistence | deciduous ⓘ |
| leafType | pinnately compound leaves ⓘ |
| lifespan | short-lived ⓘ |
| lightPreference | full sun ⓘ |
| management |
chemical control with herbicides
ⓘ
mechanical removal ⓘ |
| managementChallenge | vigorous resprouting from roots ⓘ |
| maximumHeight | about 30 m ⓘ |
| nativeTo |
China
ⓘ
Taiwan ⓘ
linked to:
Taiwan, Province of China
central China ⓘ northern China ⓘ southern China ⓘ |
| notableCompound | ailanthone ⓘ |
| odor | strong unpleasant odor when crushed ⓘ |
| order | Sapindales ⓘ |
| pestHost | host of spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) ⓘ |
| pollination | insect-pollinated ⓘ |
| reproduction |
sexual reproduction by seed
ⓘ
vegetative reproduction by root suckers ⓘ |
| seedDispersal | wind-dispersed ⓘ |
| soilPreference | disturbed soils ⓘ |
| taxonRank | species ⓘ |
| tolerance |
drought-tolerant
ⓘ
pollution-tolerant ⓘ salt-tolerant ⓘ |
| typicalHeight | up to 25 m ⓘ |
| urbanEcologyRole | colonizer of vacant urban land ⓘ |
| woodUse |
firewood
ⓘ
low-quality timber ⓘ |
| yearDescribed | 1784 ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: Ailanthus altissima Description of subject: Ailanthus altissima, commonly known as the tree of heaven, is a fast-growing deciduous tree native to China that is now widespread and often invasive in many temperate regions worldwide.
Referenced by (6)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
linked to: Ailanthus altissima
linked to: Ailanthus altissima