Lookalikes

False acacia or tree of heaven?

Both are big trees of hot city streets, with feathered leaves and twisting branches.

The quickest check

The quickest check is the base of a leaflet. False acacia: rounded, the edge smooth all round. Tree of heaven: one to six big teeth, the edge otherwise smooth. No leaves on the tree? Check the older trunk.

At a glance

Look at	False acacia	Tree of heaven
Base of a leaflet	Rounded, the edge smooth all round	One to six big teeth, the edge otherwise smooth
Older trunk	Greyish brown, deep cracks crossing into diamonds	Smooth dark grey, with fine pale streaks
Beside a bud on a strong shoot	A pair of spines, one either side	A big pale heart-shaped scar under it

Three ways to tell them apart

Base of a leafletLeaves

False acacia: base of a leaflet — False acaciaRounded, the edge smooth all round

Tree of heaven: base of a leaflet — Tree of heavenOne to six big teeth, the edge otherwise smooth

Older trunkBark

False acacia: older trunk — False acaciaGreyish brown, deep cracks crossing into diamonds

Tree of heaven: older trunk — Tree of heavenSmooth dark grey, with fine pale streaks

Beside a bud on a strong shootTwigs and buds

False acacia: beside a bud on a strong shoot — False acaciaA pair of spines, one either side

Tree of heaven: beside a bud on a strong shoot — Tree of heavenA big pale heart-shaped scar under it

Think you can tell them apart now? Try the tree quiz: real photographs, and what gives each tree away.Take the quiz

The two trees

False acacia

Robinia pseudoacacia

False acacia is an open tree with twisting branches. Its long leaves carry many small oval leaflets, and its bark is deeply furrowed. Scented white pea flowers hang in clusters in June.

Tree of heaven

Ailanthus altissima

Tree of heaven is a tall town tree, especially common in London. Its huge leaves have a few big teeth at the base of each leaflet. Bruised, they smell foul.

How to identify tree of heaven →

Their other lookalikes

False acacia or common ash?Quickest check: the edge of a leaflet

False acacia or honey locust?Quickest check: the trunk

False acacia or rowan?Quickest check: the leaflet edge

Tree of heaven or common ash?Quickest check: the edge of a leaflet

Tree of heaven or elder?Quickest check: the whole plant

In the app

See them side by side in Treely

Both trees, part by partLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed through the year
Every lookalike side by sideThe checks that settle it, for every pair people mix up
A short round each dayUntil you can tell them apart at a glance
The full GuideBoth trees written up in full, with where to find them

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Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.

Photographs: bmapp02 (CC0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0), loverseed (CC0), tomerler (CC0), bobwardell (CC0), Daniel Cahen (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.