Abstract
The data presented in this paper is supporting the research article "Estimating wind dispersal potential in Ailanthus altissima: The need to consider the three-dimensional structure of samaras" [1]. We analyzed the estimation of samara's wind dispersal potential through a group of morphological variables that succeed in describing the three-dimensional nature of samaras. We present here a dataset containing 8 morphological variables of 200 samaras belonging to 5 different individuals of the invasive tree Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle. Additionally, we present the average descent velocity of each of the samaras, which was recorded by releasing 5 times each samara under controlled and reproducible conditions. The data set is structured in a single spreadsheet where we also included the samara and the individual identity code of the tree.