6 Princesstree, Paulownia EES TR June June October October June March June June 7 Paulownia tomentosa (Thunb.) Seb. & Zucc. ex Steud. PATO2 Princesstree, Paulownia 0712 Synonym: empresstree Plant. Decduous tree to 60 feet (18 m) n heght and 2 feet (60 cm) n dameter wth TR large heart-shaped leaves, fuzzy hary on both sdes, showy pale-volet flowers n early sprng before leaves, and persstent pecan-shaped capsules n termnal clus- EES ters n summer to wnter. Abundant flower buds present on erect stalks over wnter. Stem. Twgs and branches stout, glossy gray brown and speckled wth numerous whte dots (lentcels). No termnal bud. Lateral leaf scars rased, crcular, and becom- ng larger, dark, and sunken. Bark lght-to-dark gray, roughened, and becomng slghtly fissured. Stem pth chambered or hollow and wood whte. Leaves. Opposte, heart-shaped and fuzzy hary on both surfaces, 6 to 12 nches (15 to 30 cm) long and 5 to 9 nches (13 to 23 cm) wde. Leaves larger on resprouts, 16 to 20 nches (40 to 50 cm) across, wth extra tps often extendng at ven tps. Petoles rough hary, 2 to 8 nches (5 to 20 cm) long. Flowers. Aprl to May. Covered wth showy erect pancles of pale-volet flowers before leaves n early sprng, tubular wth five unequal lobes. Fragrant. Flower buds fuzzy, lnear, and becomng ovod n summer and persstent on erect stalks over wnter. Fruit and seeds. June to Aprl. Termnal clusters of pecan-shaped capsules 1 to 2 nches (2.5 to 5 cm) long and 0.6 to 1 nch (1.5 to 2.5 cm) wde. Pale green n summer turnng to tan n wnter and eventually black and persstent nto sprng. Capsules splttng n half durng late wnter to release tny wnged seeds. Ecology. Common around old homes, on roadsdes, rparan areas, and forest mar- gns n nfested areas. Infrequently planted n plantatons. Spreads by wnd- and water- dspersed seeds. Invades after fire, harvestng, and other dsturbances. Forms colones from root sprouts. Resembles southern catalpa, Catalpa bignonioides Walt., and northern catalpa, C. speciosa (Warder) Warder ex Engelm., whch have leaves wth sparsely hary upper surfaces and rough hary lower surfaces and long slender, persstent beans. History and use. Introduced n the early 1800s from East Asa. Has been wdely planted as an ornamental and grown n scattered plantatons for speculatve hgh- value wood exports to Japan. States with suspected infestations are shown in gray. April.