Paulownia tomentosa (Thunberg) Steudel, Scrophulariaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results: 

Reject, score: 7 (Go to the risk assessment (Australia))
High risk, score: 9 (Go to the risk assessment (Pacific))

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Chinese empress tree, empress tree, foxglove tree, karri tree, princess tree, royal paulownia

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Gray-barked tree up to 15 m high; leaves entire or slightly lobed, 1.5-4 (on sprouts "5) dm broad; calyx 1-1.5 cm long, rusty-pubescent, with obtuse lobes; corolla about 5 cm long, violet, with yellow stripes within, glandular on the outside; capsule 3-4 cm long"  (Fernald, 1950; p. 1273).

Habitat/ecology:  Roadsides, clearings and borders of woods.  "Seedlings colonize rocky cliffs and sandy stream banks, quickly invading after disturbances such as fire, construction...or floods.  The trees also cause maintenance problems along roads and utility rights-of-way and in gardens"  (Randall & Marinelli, 1996).  "For rapid growth to occur, the plant requires full sunlight, ample soil moisture and fertile soil" (Boroughs, 1991, cited in Csurhes and Edwards, 1998; p. 184).

Propagation:  Prolific seed producer, sprouts profusely. Mature plants can reproduce from coppice. (Csurhes and Edwards, 1998; p. 184).

Native range:  Eastern Asia. Often promoted as a rapidly growing forestry tree.

Presence:

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 184)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 1200) "Occasional in the vicinity of gardens, especially in pavement cracks or similar places".

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced invasive cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 184)

Comments:  Invasive in the eastern United States.

Control: 

Physical: Small seedlings can by hand-pulled, but all parts of the roots must be removed. Large trees can be cut or girdled, but resprouting is a problem unless herbicides are used. Repeated cutting will eventually exhaust the roots.

Chemical: "Treat cut stumps immediately with a 50 percent solution of glyphosate or triclopyr herbicide to prevent sprouting.  On small trees a foliar application of 2 percent glyphosate is effective"  (Randall & Marinelli, 1996).

Additional information:  Paulownia tomentosa factsheet (from PCA-APWG)
Information on this species from "Silvics of North American", USDA Agriculture Handbook 654.
Information from "Invasive plants of Asian origin established in the United States and their natural enemies, volume 1" (PDF format).
Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.

Additional online information about Paulownia tomentosa is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Paulownia tomentosa may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray's manual of botany, eighth edition. American Book Co. p. 588.

Randall, J. M./Marinelli, J. (eds.). 1996. Invasive plants: weeds of the global garden. Brooklyn Botanic Garden Handbook 149. 111 pp.

U. S. Government. 2006. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Zheng, Hao/Wu, Yun/Ding, Jianqing/Binion, Denise/Fu, Weidong/Reardon, Richard. 2004. Invasive plants of Asian origin established in the United States and their natural enemies, volume 1. FHTET-2004-05. U.S. Forest Service, Morgantown.