Fundamentals

• Natives of China, Paulownia trees now are prized in many areas of the world for their ability to grow quickly and establish a canopy, and for its easily worked wood, according to Paulownia.org. But it also has been condemned by some state agencies and the National Park Service as an invasive plant that chokes out native vegetation because of its ability to propagate just about anywhere, including through cracks in asphalt, on rocky outcrops and amid the gravel of roadsides.
  
  One feature attractive to lumber companies is the Paulownia's ability to quickly grow back from a cut stump, creating a renewable resource.
  
  

Characteristics

• Paulownia trees produce millions of small, fluffy, winged seeds that disperse widely on the wind and grow well wherever they settle, according to Paulownia.org. Each oval fruit contains thousands of seeds, according to the Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation.
  
  A single tree can produce 20 million seeds, according to the National Park Service Plant Conservation Alliance. Trees flower within eight to 10 years of germinating from seed. The trees rarely live more than 70 years, according to the National Park Service.
  
  Paulownia's velvety, heart-shaped leaves can grow to a foot long. Paulownia trees produce large upright clusters of purple tube-like flowers that can grow to 2 inches long, according to a Virginia Tech fact sheet. The fragrant flowers bloom in mid-spring. The tree can reach 50 feet tall with a trunk 2 feet in diameter.
  
  

Range

• Paulownia trees thrive in the Eastern United States from Texas northeast to upstate New York and Massachusetts, according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Connecticut has banned the tree from being grown in the state.
  
  Paulownia trees also can be grown in some coastal areas of the West Coast, including Oregon, according to the agriculture department.
  
  

Folklore

• Chinese tradition tells parents to plant a Paulownia tree when a daughter is born. When she marries, a musical instrument or furniture is created from the wood, guaranteeing the couple has a happy marriage, according to Paulownia.org. Paulownia carving has become an art in China and Japan. String instruments including kotos in Japan and zithers in Korea are made from Paulownia wood.
  
  Another legend declares that the Phoenix bird will only land on the Paulownia and only when a sage ruler is in power.
  
  

History

• The tree is native to western and central China where, as far back as the third century B.C. records show it was known for medicinal, ornamental, and timber uses, according to the National Park Service.
  
  Chinese merchants in the 1800s used Palownia seeds as a packing material for porcelain and other export items. Seeds leaking out of packing cases would grow along railroad tracks and other areas, creating its reputation as an invasive weed.
  
  The East India Trading Company first brought the Paulownia tree to the United States as an ornamental and landscape tree around 1840, according to the National Park Service Plant Conservation Alliance.