| SOURCE:
The following information on this species is taken, in part, from the Plant
Conservation Alliance, Alien Plant Working Group, Weeds Gone Wild website at
http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/factmain.htm. Modifications include
additional pictures (from www.invasives.org
and http://www.ppws.vt.edu/weedindex.htm)
and resource information. Check the website links for future updates. The last
update for this fact sheet is April 1, 2004. |
NATIVE RANGE:
China
DESCRIPTION:
Princess tree, also known as royal paulownia or empress tree, is a small to
medium sized tree that may reach 30-60 feet in height. The bark is rough,
gray-brown, and interlaced with shiny, smooth areas. Stems are olive-brown to
dark brown, hairy and markedly flattened at the nodes (where stems and branches
meet). Leaves are large, broadly oval to heart-shaped, or sometimes shallowly
three-lobed, and noticeably hairy on the lower leaf surfaces. They are arranged
in pairs along the stem. Conspicuous upright clusters of showy, pale violet,
fragrant flowers open in the spring.
The fruit is a dry brown capsule with four
compartments that may contain several thousand tiny winged seeds. Capsules
mature in autumn when they open to release the seeds and then remain attached
all winter, providing a handy identification aid.
ECOLOGICAL
THREAT: Princess tree is an aggressive ornamental tree that grows rapidly in disturbed
natural areas, including forests, streambanks, and steep rocky slopes.
DISTRIBUTION
IN THE UNITED STATES:
Princess tree is found in 25 states in the eastern U.S., from Maine to Texas.
HABITAT IN
THE UNITED STATES: Princess tree can be found along roadsides, streambanks, and forest
edges. It tolerates infertile and acid soils and drought conditions. It easily
adapts to disturbed habitats, including previously burned areas, forests
defoliated by pests (such as the gypsy moth) and landslides and can colonize
rocky cliffs and scoured riparian zones where it may compete with rare plants
in these marginal habitats. Its ability to sprout prolifically from
adventitious buds on stems and roots allows it to survive fire, cutting, and
even bulldozing in construction areas.
BACKGROUND:
Princess tree was introduced into the U.S. as an ornamental and landscape tree
around 1840. It was first imported to Europe in the 1830's by the Dutch East
India Company and brought to North America a few years later. This tree has
since become naturalized in the eastern U.S. and is also grown on the west
coast. Princess tree is native to western and central China where historical
records describe its medicinal, ornamental, and timber uses as early as the
third century B.C. It was cultivated centuries ago in Japan where it is valued
in many traditions. Recently it has also been grown in plantations and
harvested for export to Japan where its wood is highly valued.
BIOLOGY &
SPREAD: Princess tree can reproduce from seed or from root sprouts; the latter can grow
more than 15 feet in a single season. The root branches are shallow and
horizontal without a strong taproot. Seed-forming pollen is fully developed
before the onset of winter and the insect-pollinated flowers open in spring. A
single tree is capable of producing an estimated twenty million seeds that are
easily transported long distances by wind and water and may germinate shortly
after reaching suitable soil. Seedlings grow quickly and flower in 8-10 years.
Mature trees are often structurally unsound and rarely live more than 70 years.
SUGGESTED
ALTERNATIVE PLANTS: Many native shrubs and trees make excellent alternatives to Princess
tree. Examples include serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis and A.
arborea), redbud (Cercis canadensis), flowering dogwood (Cornus
florida), American holly (Ilex opaca), red mulberry (Morus rubra),
spicebush (Lindera benzoin), and sassafras (Sassafras albidum).
Contact the native plant society in your state for additional recommendations
and for information on local sources of native plants.
AUTHORS: Tom
Remaley, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, TN.
EDITORS: Jil M.
Swearingen, National Park Service, Washington, DC.
Alison Dalsimer, Consultant, Legacy Resource Management Program, Washington, DC
For more information
on Princess tree, please contact:
Delaware River Invasive Plant Partnership,
http://www.paflora.org/DRIPP.html
Kris Johnson, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, TN Invasive
Plant Atlas of New England, http://invasives.eeb.uconn.edu/ipane/
Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council, Inc., http://www.ma-eppc.org
National Invasive Species Information Center,
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov
Plant Conservation Alliance, Alien Plant Working Group, Weeds Gone Wild Fact
Sheets, http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/pocu1.htm.
Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas,
http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/
Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council, Invasive Plant Manual,
http://www.se-eppc.org.
The Bugwood Network, MA-EPPC Plant List,
http://www.invasive.org/maweeds.cfm
The Nature Conservancy, Invasive Species Initiative,
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs.html
USDA Forest Service, Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests,
http://www.invasive.org/eastern/srs/JH.html
USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area, Invasive Plants: Weeds of the Week,
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/invasive_plants/weeds/
USDA - NRCS PLANTS Database, http://plants.usda.gov/
REFERENCES:
Cunningham, T.R., S.B. Carpenter. 1980. The effect of diammonium phosphate
fertilizer on the germination of Paulownia tomentosa seeds. Tree Planter's
Notes 31:6-8.
Hu, Shiu-Ying. 1959. A monograph of the genus Paulownia. Quarterly Journal of
the Taiwan Museum 7(1&2):1-54.
Langdon, K.R., K.D. Johnson. 1994. Additional notes on invasiveness of
Paulownia tomentosa in natural areas. Natural Areas Journal 14 (2):139-140.
Melhuish, J.H., Jr., C.E. Gentry, P.R. Beckjord. 1990. Paulownia tomentosa
seedling growth at differing levels of pH, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Journal of
Environmental Horticulture 8:205-207.
Niemeier, J. 1984. I had to kill the empress. Arbor Bulletin Arbor Foundation
Seattle University Washington 47(2):21-23.
Petrides, G.S. 1972. A field guide to trees and shrubs. The Peterson Field
Guide Series. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Rehder, M.A. 1927. Manual of cultivated trees and shrubs. MacMillan Co., New
York. (Reprinted 1983): Dioscorides Press, Portland, Oregon. Sand, S. 1992. The
empress tree. American Horticulturist 71:27-29.
Sanderson, K.C. 1972. Effect of photoperiod on the growth of empress tree,
Paulownia tomentosa seedlings. Alabama Agriculture Experiment Station Hort.
Service 18:10-11.
Sticker, O., M.F. Lahloub. 1982. Phenolic glycosides of Paulownia tomentosa
bark. Journal of Medicinal Plant Research 46:145-148.
Swanson, R.E. 1994. A field guide to the trees and shrubs of the southern
Appalachians. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.
Williams, C.E. 1983. The exotic empress tree, Paulownia tomentosa: an invasive
pest of forests. Natural Areas Journal 13(3):221-222.
Plant Conservation Alliance,
Alien Plant Working Group.
Management and
Control Information
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