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Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,333,434 articles in EnglishArtsBiographyGeographyHistoryMathematicsScienceSocietyTechnologyAll portalsOverview · Editing · Questions · HelpContents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z indexToday’s featured articleAilanthus altissima is a deciduous tree in the quassia family (Simaroubaceae). It is native to northeast and central China as well as Taiwan. Unlike other members of the genus Ailanthus, it is found in temperate climates rather than the tropics. The tree grows rapidly and is capable of reaching heights of 15 metres (50 ft) in 25 years. However, the species is also short-lived and rarely lives more than 50 years. A. altissima was first brought from China to Europe in the 1740s and to the United States in 1784. The plant has been spread to many other areas beyond its native range. In a number of these, it has become an invasive species due to its ability to quickly colonise disturbed areas and suppress competition with allelopathic chemicals. It is considered a noxious weed in Australia, the United States, New Zealand and several countries in southern and eastern Europe. The tree also re-sprouts vigorously when cut, making its eradication extremely difficult and time-consuming. In China, the tree of heaven has a long and rich history. It was mentioned in the oldest extant Chinese dictionary and listed in countless Chinese medical texts for its purported ability to cure ailments ranging from mental illness to balding. (more…)Recently featured: 1999 Sydney hailstorm – Lisa del Giocondo – Kansas TurnpikeArchive – By email – More featured articles…Did you know…From Wikipedia’s newest articles:…that at age 23, Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen (pictured) was the youngest Danish politician ever to participate in a nationally televised debate for party leaders?…that Lualhati Bautista’s Tagalog novel, Bata, Bata… Pa’no Ka Ginawa? became a film starring Vilma Santos, an actress turned first female governor of Batangas of the Philippines?…that Gilbert Patten, the author of the Frank Merriwell dime novels, managed a semi-professional baseball team in Camden, Maine during the 1890–1891 season?…that although it is used in aquaculture, there are only two known cases of Palometa being traded as aquarium fish over a five-year period?…that George Rea was the first paid president of the “New York Curb Exchange,” now known as the American Stock Exchange?…that Ingmar Bergman’s film The Virgin Spring is based on the medieval Swedish ballad “Töres dotter i Wänge”?…that pioneer Omaha physician George L. Miller served as president of the Nebraska State Historical Society after being labeled a “raving maniac” by the press?Archive – Start a new article…In the newsAn alliance led by Silvio Berlusconi (pictured) wins the general election in Italy.In golf, Trevor Immelman of South Africa wins the 2008 Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.Jacques-Édouard Alexis is ousted as Prime Minister of Haiti following riots over the price of food.The Channel Island Sark abolishes the last remaining feudal system in Europe.The Grand National Party of President Lee Myung-bak wins a majority of seats in the National Assembly of South Korea.Soyuz TMA-12 is launched, carrying Yi So-yeon, the first Korean in space, for a mission to the International Space Station.The Olympic torch relay is disrupted in London, Paris and San Francisco by protesters objecting to China’s human rights record.Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events…On this day…April 15: Tax Day in the United States; Father Damien Day in Hawaii; Birthday of the Great Leader in North Korea.1738 – Baroque composer George Frideric Handel’s Serse, an opera loosely based on Xerxes I of Persia, premiered in London.1755 – A Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson was first published.1912 – The passenger liner RMS Titanic sank about two hours and forty minutes after colliding with an iceberg (pictured), killing over 1,500 people.1947 – Jackie Robinson, the first African American to break the baseball color line, played his first game in Major League Baseball.1986 – U.S. armed forces launched Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya.1989 – The death of former Chinese General Secretary Hu Yaobang triggered a series of events that led to the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing.More events on this day…Recent days: April 14 – April 13 – April 12Archive – By email – More anniversaries…Today’s featured pictureGilbert and Sullivan created fourteen comic operas, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado, many of which are still frequently performed today. However, events around their 1889 collaboration, The Gondoliers, led to an argument and a lawsuit dividing the two. In 1891, after many failed attempts at reconciliation by the pair and their producer Richard D’Oyly Carte, Gilbert and Sullivan’s music publisher, Tom Chappell, stepped in to mediate between two of his most profitable artists, and within two weeks he had succeeded. This cartoon in The Entr’acte expresses the magazine’s pleasure at the reuniting of D’Oyly Carte (left), Gilbert (centre), and Sullivan (right).Image credit: Alfred BryanRecently featured: Red-headed Woodpecker – Saturn – JaguarArchive – More featured pictures…