Empress tree

Description:

Paulownia tomentosa (also known as the Empress Tree, Princess Tree or Foxglove Tree; pao tong 泡桐 in Chinese; kiri 桐 in Japanese) is a deciduous tree in the genus Paulownia, native to central and western China, but invasive in the US. It grows to 10–25 m tall, with large heart-shaped to five-lobed leaves 15–40 cm across, arranged in opposite pairs on the stem. On young growth, the leaves may be in whorls of three and be much bigger than the leaves on more mature growth. The leaves can be mistaken for those of the catalpa. The characteristic large size of the young growth is exploited by gardeners: by pollarding the tree and ensuring there is vigorous new growth every year, massive leaves are produced (up to 60 cm across). These are popular in the modern style of gardening which uses large-foliaged and "architectural" plants.

Habitat:

On edge of Tennessee River in Florence Alabama.

Notes:

These highly invasive trees are still sold & planted in the US. The are very popular due to their extremely fast growth rate (up to 15' per year) & attractive flowers but are sadly threatening indigenous species in many states. Anyone in the US thinking of planting this species, please don't!