Paulownia Facts



Common Name(s): Paulownia, Royal Paulownia, Princess Tree, Kiri
Scientific Name: Paulownia tomentosa
Distribution:: Native to eastern Asia; also planted in eastern North America
Tree Size: 30-65 ft (10-20 m) tall, 2-4 ft (.6-1.2 m) trunk diameter
Average Dried Weight: 18 lbs/ft3 (280 kg/m3)
Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): .25, .28
Janka Hardness: 300 lbf (1,330 N)
Modulus of Rupture: 5,480 lbf/in2 (37.8 MPa)
Elastic Modulus: 635,000 lbf/in2 (4.38 GPa)
Crushing Strength: 3,010 lbf/in2 (20.7 MPa) Shrinkage: Radial: 2.4%, Tangential: 3.9%, Volumetric: 6.4%, T/R Ratio: 1.6

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Paulownia trees have attracted great interest, and the genus has developed a substantial “following” in the US over the past few decades. As highlighted in this communication, they have been popular in Asia for a great many centuries. We have invited the author, who has a commercial agroforestry and tree plantation services company, to share some of his passion for this plant which clearly has substantial potential for sustainable agroforestry systems in many areas of the world. Introduction The Paulownia tree has been grown in China for at least 2600 years. It may well hold the record for history’s oldest plantation tree. In ancient times (221-207 BC), a book entitled On Qin Dynasty reported that thousands of Paulownias were planted around Arfang City in China (1). Paulownia wood, a light-colored hardwood, has been revered for centuries by Japanese craftsmen because of its workability and beauty. In the Japanese tradition, Paulownia was used to build kotos (Japanese harps) because of the wood’s superior acoustical quality. Paulownia species probably first came to the United States sometime during the mid-1800s, although researchers have also discovered evidence that the genus Paulownia grew in the northwestern United States in prehistoric times (2). Because the seeds are very tiny and light in weight (1.75 million per pound), the Chinese immigrants often used the seed to cushion their dishes and other breakables when shipping from the Orient. Some seeds undoubtedly escaped and took root. About 1970, a group of Japanese wood buyers, while driving through Virginia, noticed the trees growing wild. The Japanese began buying up these old-growth (P. tomentosa) Paulownia logs. By 1979, U.S. growers established a commercial plot with three acres of P. elongata planted in Polk County, North Carolina.

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