Paulownia Tree, Unusual But Interesting
Recently, several of the agriculture agents from this area were meeting at a nearby farm, planning an upcoming training when we came upon an unusual tree. One of us looked at it and stated it looks like a catalpa tree. Another looked at it and said it cannot be a catalpa tree; it does not have the right kind of seedpods. We all scratched our heads.
Finally, the last agent in the group came up and asked what we were looking at. We pointed to the tree. He looked at it and quickly said, "Why that is a paulownia tree", renewing my faith that all old Clemson Extension agents know everything.
I got back to the office and looked up paulownia tree and thought that you might be interested in the information I found.
According to "The Tree of the South" by Charlotte Hilton Green, the paulownia tree, Paulownia tomentosa, is native to Japan and China. Oddly enough, it was named after a Russian princess, Anna Paulownia, by a Dutch botanist.
I can understand the confusion with that of a catalpa tree. The foliage and form of the native catalpa tree looks very similar to the paulownia tree. Unlike the catalpa, the paulownia flowers before it leafs out and has a very different shaped seedpod.
The catalpa is another interesting and usual tree that will have to be explored more fully in another article.
The paulownia tree has several common names, which include royal paulownia tree, princess tree, empress tree, international tree and blue catalpa.
The paulownia tree is deciduous. This means that it looses its leaves in the fall of the year. The seedpods, which resemble clusters of nuts, will remain on the tree into the winter. The most unattractive time for this tree is during the colder months when seedpods can be heard rattling in the wind on the leafless branches.
In the spring, the paulownia puts on a real show with very fragrant, breathtaking blooms that more than make up for the uninviting winter months. The flowers are purple to violet in color, which is a very unusual color for a tree. Personally, the blooms resemble that of wisteria in color and foxglove in form.
This tree was reportedly naturalized in the southeast as an ornamental plant around the turn of the century. Ornamentals refer to plants used just for decoration.
Because of its vigorous growth, it was used at one time as a hedgerow or screen. These screens had to be cut back each year. In a single season, the shoots could grow up to ten to twelve feet high.
The leaves of the paulownia are heart shaped. On the new growth the leaves can reach a size of 15 inches across, which add to its attractiveness as a screen. Leaves produced by older trees are much smaller and range in size of 6 to 8 inches.
The tree can reach a height of over forty feet tall.� The wood, earlier in the 1900�s, was highly valued in the Oriental countries because it is light, soft, easily worked. In Japan, it was used at one time for making wooden shoes
