# Name the tree that smells like semen **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 20, 2005, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995 "2005-06-20T04:22:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LindyHopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@LindyHopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LindyHopper)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995/21 "2005-06-20T21:58:38Z")
Oh, and [here’s](http://almostedenplants.com/mall/wpe93.jpg) a picture. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995/22 "2005-06-20T22:16:12Z")
Not a mimosa tree. My memory of the tree most closely resembles a cherry blossom tree. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995/23 "2005-06-20T22:32:32Z")
I’ve always found Bradford Pears to smell like semen, and they give you the snowflake effect. They’re everywhere around here. They had several dozen surrounding the cafeteria at my high school, along with some sort of tree that smelled like tuna crotch. Appetizing. ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995/24 "2005-06-20T23:31:44Z")
This is Ailanthus altissima: [http://www.piante-e-arbusti.it/foto/ailanto\_fio.jpg](http://www.piante-e-arbusti.it/foto/ailanto_fio.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995/25 "2005-06-20T23:34:01Z")
> [@Brain Wreck](#): > > Not a mimosa tree. My memory of the tree most closely resembles a cherry blossom tree. If it reminds you of a cherry blossom tree, then it’s probably a bradford pear (Prunus calleryana), which had wretched nasty blossoms and not much else going for them other than a spring show. ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995/26 "2005-06-21T03:05:58Z")
> [@Doobieous](#): > > This is Ailanthus altissima: > > [http://www.piante-e-arbusti.it/foto/ailanto\_fio.jpg](http://www.piante-e-arbusti.it/foto/ailanto_fio.jpg) This is the semen tree that grows in Santa Fe, NM that’s blooming right now. It’s a naturalized sumac-type tree… I don’t think it’s native. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995/27 "2005-06-21T04:25:59Z")
> [@Doobieous](#): > > If it reminds you of a cherry blossom tree, then it’s probably a bradford pear (Prunus calleryana), which had wretched nasty blossoms and not much else going for them other than a spring show. Yeah, I’m leaning toward Bradford pear. I have heard people discussing them commonly as ornamentals in the North Georgia area. Plus, my mental image is more a sparse and vertical tree, which is closer to a Bradford than a cherry tree. Sorry for bringing up a tree identification thread when all I had is a memory and a smell, but I think it’s the Bradford pear. ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995/28 "2005-06-21T13:04:56Z")
I have Bradford pear trees at my house. I am also familiar with semen-smelling trees in these parts. The ones I know of are not Bradford pear trees. They are Ailanthus altissima. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995/29 "2005-06-21T13:53:04Z")
[Here’s a closeup](http://myoptics.home.insightbb.com/cardgallery/pages/Bradford_Pear.htm) of Bradford Pear blossoms. [Here’s a shot](http://www.totalscapelandscaping.com/web%20pages/Glossary/def/bradford%20pear.htm) of the tree. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995/30 "2005-06-21T16:29:06Z")
I’m suspecting Bradfor Pears, as well. They get used right much in landscaping because they’re pretty, but they’re also very weak wooded and tend to break up pretty easily. I’ve noticed the semen smell, as well, but the smell is pretty common to lots of different pollens. The gingko tree that smell so bad is only the female (IIRC) - they stink to high heaven and don’t smell anything like semen (of course, if your semen smells like a female gingko tree fruit, you may want to visit a doctor pronto - something’s wrong in your plumbing). ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995/31 "2005-06-21T16:42:15Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > [Here’s a shot](http://www.totalscapelandscaping.com/web%20pages/Glossary/def/bradford%20pear.htm) of the tree. Would that be considered a money shot? ---
**Author:** ![mlerose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@mlerose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlerose)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995/32 "2005-06-21T16:53:15Z")
I’m thinking the ones here in Denver are Bradford pears. That’s what the flowers look like. They don’t stink as badly when they aren’t flowering, but they do stink. ---
**Author:** ![klintypooh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@klintypooh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/klintypooh)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995/33 "2005-06-21T22:52:24Z")
Errrrm we have that over here in the UK too. The only name I’ve ever known it by was ‘The Cum Bush’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-tree-that-smells-like-semen/308995.md?page=1)