Princess tree (Invasive Plants of Pittsburgh)

Princess tree

Paulownia tomentosa

Summary ⁷

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...

History in the united states ⁸

Princess tree was introduced into the U.S. as an ornamental and landscape tree around 1840. It was first imported to Europe in the 1830's by the Dutch East India Company and brought to North America a few years later. This tree has since become naturalized in the eastern U.S. and is also grown on the west coast. Princess tree is native to western and central China where historical records describe its medicinal, ornamental, and timber uses as early as the third century B.C. It was cultivated centuries ago in Japan where it is valued in many traditions. Recently it has also been grown in plantations and harvested for export to Japan where its wood is highly valued.