Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Paulownia tomentosa
FAMILY
Paulowniaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more at Invasive.org
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Paulownia at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Paulownia tomentosa
FAMILY
Scrophulariaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Paulownia tomentosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 166-01-001:
Paulownia tomentosa FAMILY Scrophulariaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Paulownia tomentosa
COMMON NAME:
Princess Tree, Empress Tree, Royal Paulownia
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_pato2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_pato2_007_lvd
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_paulownia_tomentosa_3
January
)
JK Marlow jkm080204_007
February Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm080204_012
February Greenville County SC
Roadside
Densely tomentose tan flower buds are conspicuous thru the winter, per Weakley's Flora.
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JK Marlow jkm090321_007
March Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
Large woody ovoid capsules, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Gill Newberry gn04_p_tomentosa_branch
April
Paulownia is becoming a nuisance, showing an ability to invade pristine woodlands, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
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Gill Newberry gn04_p_tomentosa_flower
April
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Gill Newberry gn04_s_5_paulownia_flower
April
Flowers fragrant, appearing before the leaves, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
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JK Marlow jkm0304u_07
April Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
The calyx is leathery, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm0404m_03
April Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Lenticels large, pale, and numerous, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
JK Marlow jkm0404m_05
April Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0404x_12
April Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Showy erect panicles of pale-violet flowers, tubular with 5 unequal lobes, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).
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Rob Hunnings rlh_10384
May Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_paulownia_tomentosa
May MA
Arnold Arboretum
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_paulownia_tomentosab
May MA
Arnold Arboretum
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_paulownia_tomentosac
May MA
Arnold Arboretum
)
JK Marlow jkm0406m_04
June Greenville County SC
Parking lot
Ovoid capsule, each containing up to 2000 small winged seeds, per Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (Dirr, 1975+).
)
JK Marlow jkm0507m_29
July Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow s050710_ab
July Fayette County WV
Roadside
Leaves larger on resprouts, with extra tips often extending at vein tips, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).
)
JK Marlow s050710_cd
July Fayette County WV
Roadside
Leaf underside.
)
JK Marlow s050710_f
July Fayette County WV
Roadside
Leaves heart-shaped and fuzzy-hairy on both surfaces, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_070521atlanta29
July DeKalb County GA
Kittredge Park
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_070521atlanta31
July DeKalb County GA
Kittredge Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0308n_23
August Alamance County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm0311f_29
November Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
A large tree may produce 20 million seeds in a year, per Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (Dirr, 1975+).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Paulownia tomentosa
FAMILY
Paulowniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Paulownia tomentosa
FAMILY
Scrophulariaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Paulownia tomentosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 166-01-001:
Paulownia tomentosa
FAMILY
Scrophulariaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Paulownia tomentosa
1037
Tree
Perennial
Habitat: Roadsides, disturbed areas, roadcuts, forests, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: China
Common (uncommon to rare in Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- NC Botanical Garden
- NC Department of Transportation
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- SC Native Plant Society
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
- US Fish & Wildlife Service
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Light purplish-blue
Bilaterally symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
2-lipped 5-lobed tubular corolla
4 fertile included stamens (2 long, 2 short)
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Inflorescence paniculate
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p030
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p377
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p518
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p155
- A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010) p016
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p324
- Invasive Exotic Plants of North Carolina (Smith, 2008) p015
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p351
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p098
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p223
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p17
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p228
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Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".