Meanings
nounghetto palm (plural ghetto palms)
plural ghetto palms
- Synonym of tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
Note the presence in the foreground of the fronds of ailanthus, often called “ghetto palm,” now ubiquitous in Baltimore but apparently already common in the 1930s.
2006, Mark Chalkley, Hampden-WoodberrySynonyms: tree of heaven
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
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Also see
Origin
From its tendency to grow wild in weeded-over urban areas of the United States.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
ghetto palm. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ghetto%20palm
MLA
“ghetto palm.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ghetto%20palm. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ghetto palm,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ghetto%20palm.
Source: ghetto palm on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.