What Is a Paulownia Tree?

Not yet well-known in the U.S., the Paulownia tree has an interesting history and significant potential as a sustainable source of economically-valuable hardwood with many uses. It also has various environmental benefits that make it a species well worth investigating.

Six species of Paulownia are known: P. elongata, P. fargesii, P. fortunei, P. glabrata, P. taiwainiana and P. tomentosa. The tree is native to mainland China, where it has been cultivated for at least 3,000 years. The timber from Paulownia was exported from China to Japan where it was used to make handicrafts such as harps and wedding chests. It came to the U.S. in the 1880s via packing material used to protect Chinese dinnerware. The packing material consisted of Paulownia seeds, which were released into the wild. The wild trees were discovered in the 1970s and have since been cultivated for export.

Paulownia is a deciduous hardwood with gray-brown bark. Juvenile leaves are very large leaves with serrated edges, while mature leaves are smaller with smooth edges. The tree has fragrant purplish-white flowers. This is a very adaptable tree, hardy up to 2,000 meters and able to thrive in a wide range of temperatures. It typically grows 15 to 18 feet in the first year about 8 feet in subsequent years, reaching a mature height of 30 to 60 feet. It can adjust to almost any soil conditions as long as the soil is well-drained.

The Paulownia can be grown on plantations with very little care and will yield one cubic meter of hardwood in 8 to 10 years. After the tree is harvested it will sprout again from the stump and is therefore a sustainable source of timber or fuel for biomass generation. In small rural communities in China, the tree is a source of lumber, firewood, coal, livestock feed. The wood of the Paulownia is lightweight and strong, with a beautiful grain. In China and Japan it is used for making musical instruments, roof beams, doors and windows for houses, packing boxes, handicrafts, furniture, plywood and pulpwood. In the U.S. the first commercial harvests of Paulownia took place in the late 1990s.

The environmental benefits of the Paulownia tree are many. The trees are grown on plantations, not taken from old-growth forests. They are good alternatives to other hardwood trees grown in jungles and rain forests. These trees are effective in absorbing pollutants from hog, chicken and dairy farming. They have roots that go down 40 feet, regulating the water table and removing salts from the soil. After a tree is harvested, it grows back from the stump, saving the soil disturbance that would result if the stump had to be pulled. Paulownia trees grow easily in disturbed soil and are useful for preventing soil erosion.