Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)

A path is made by walking on it.

—Zhuang Zhou

7

Merely is its Chinese name.*

Master Zhuang Zhou made it a metaphor for his philosophy.

Its sap smells foul, and the wood is good for nothing,

But these are the merits of its uselessness:

It spreads its seeds in every crack and cranny,

Grows boldly with astounding speed,

Survived the period of Warring States,† and will survive us too.

Why should it not—no one wants it.

It has an enemy, though—

The spotted lantern fly (Lycorma delicatula),

Whose favorite food it is.

L. delicatula is likewise useless,

Unless its use is purely pleasure:

It’s been seen, they say, to copulate for hours on end.

A spotted lantern fly nymph in its final instar, or developmental stage, before moulting—shedding its exoskeleton—and becoming a grown-up. Probably with only one thing on its tiny arthropod mind.

*Ch’un shu (纯属), “merely” or "purely."

†Ca. 480 BCE to 221 BCE in ancient China.