In North America

The earliest introductions of A. altissima to countries outside of its native range were to the southern areas of Korea as well as to Japan. It is possible that the tree is native to these areas, but it is generally agreed that the tree was a very early introduction.[17] Within China itself it has also been naturalised beyond its native range in areas such as Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang.[12]

In 1784, not long after Jussieu had sent seeds to England, some were forwarded to the United States by William Hamilton, a gardener in Philadelphia. In both Europe and America it quickly became a favoured ornamental, especially as a street tree, and by 1840 it was available in most nurseries.[3][8] The tree was separately brought to California in the 1890s by Chinese immigrants who came during the California Gold Rush. It has escaped cultivation in all areas where it was introduced, but most extensively in the United States.[15] It has naturalised across much of Europe, including Germany,[18] Austria, Switzerland, the Pannonian region (i.e. southeastern Europe from Italy and Hungary south to Bosnia and Herzegovina) and most countries of the Mediterranean Basin.[16] Ailanthus has also been introduced to Argentina,[15] Australia (where it is a declared weed in New South Wales and Victoria),[19] New Zealand (where it is listed under the National Pest Plant Accord and is classed an "unwanted organism"),[20] the Middle East and in some countries in South Asia such as Pakistan.[21]

In North America, A. altissima is present from Massachusetts in the east, west to southern Ontario, southwest to Iowa, south to Texas, and east to the north of Florida. On the west coast it is found from New Mexico west to California and north to Washington.[2][15] In the east of its range it grows most extensively in disturbed areas of cities, where it was long ago present as a planted street tree.[3][15] It also grows along roads and railways. For example, a 2003 study in North Carolina found the tree of heaven was present on 1.7% of all highway and railroad edges in the state and had been expanding its range at the rate of 4.76% counties per year.[22] Similarly, another study conducted in southwestern Virginia determined that the tree of heaven is thriving along approximately 30% of the state's interstate highway system length or mileage.[23] It sometimes enters undisturbed areas as well and competes with native plants.[15] In western North America it is most common in mountainous areas around old dwellings and abandoned mining operations.[24][25]



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