Scientific Name:
Paulownia tomentosa
Pronunciation:
paw-LOE-nee-uh toe-men-TOE-suh
Common Name:
princess tree, empress tree
Family Name:
Paulowniaceae
Plant Type:
Tree - deciduous
Key ID Features:
Leaves opposite, ovate, most blades 12-25(-40)cm long x 10-23(-35)cm wide, base cordate, margins entire or occasionally 5 tooth or with shallow lobes (juvenile foliage), peach fuzz on underside, petioles up to 20cm long; bark has stretch marks; thyrse 20-30(-45)cm long, cymose branches with 3-4 florets, violet-purple, each 5-7 cm wide, appear before leaves; capsules woody, brown, ovate, pointed, 3-4cm long x 2-3cm wide, each with >1000 tiny winged seeds ~2mm long. Winter ID: twigs brown with prominent whitish lenticels, flower buds rounded, fuzzy, most 7-9mm wide in clusters; capsules partially split open lengthwise in half.
Habit:
Dense, Spreading
Form:
Round
Texture:
Coarse
Mature Height:
10 - 15m
Mature Spread:
10 - 15m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
S.E. Asia / Japan / China (China)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 5: (-29 to -23 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun, Part sun/part shade, Sheltered
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Landscape Uses:
Specimen plant
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Opposite
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible, Pinnate venation, Palmate venation
Surfaces:
Pubescent, Tomentose
Colour in Fall:
Green, Yellow
Shapes:
Ovate
Apices:
Acuminate
Bases:
Cordate
Margins:
Dentate, Entire, Palmately lobed
Inflorescence Type:
Thyrse, Panicle-like
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
5
Corolla Shape:
Bilabiate
Ovary Position:
Superior
Colour (petals):
Showy, Yellow, Violet
Flower Scent:
Fragrant, Sweet
Flower Time at Peak:
Apr, May
Additional Info:
Edible; Fragrance similar to vanilla
Fruit Type:
Capsule
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Aug, Sep
Additional Info:
Showy, Persistent
Bark Morphology:
Lightly fissured, Single stem trunk
Bark or Stem Colour:
Dark Grey, Brown
Leaf Bud Type:
Superposed
Leaf Scar Shape:
Round
Organ Modifications:
Root suckers
Propagation:
Seed, Division - above ground parts
Maintenance:
High
Pest Susceptibility:
Dieback, Fungal leaf spot, Heart rot, Root rot
Course(s):
- HORT 1155
Location(s):
- (ONE) Overpass North side East : 667
- (SQC) SeQuoiadendron Courtyard : removed Oct.'13