Korean paulownia is a fast-growing tree from Korea whose light, resonant wood is prized for traditional Korean zithers like the gayageum; it isn't known to grow wild in the US. It looks almost exactly like the princess tree (Paulownia tomentosa), the paulownia that has become invasive in the eastern US. The two are told apart by the inside of the flower: Korean paulownia lacks purple stripes.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A deciduous tree 33–65 ft (10–20 m) tall that grows very quickly.
- Leaves
- Huge opposite leaves 6–9 in (15–23 cm) long and up to 11 in (28 cm) wide, on stalks 4–8 in (10–20 cm) long.
- Flowers
- Fragrant, light purple, bell-shaped flowers 2–3 in (5–7.5 cm) long open in May–June in Korea, without purple stripes inside.
- Flowering time
- May–June (in Korea)
- Fruit
- Light brown, oval capsules with sticky hairs ripen in October–November.
Look-alikes
Princess tree flowers have purple stripes or dotted lines inside the throat, and its leaves are hairy on both sides.
Why they get mixed upIt's the paulownia Americans actually see: native to China and invasive from the mid-Atlantic and mid-South to Texas.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Around homes
- Vacant lots
- Range
- Native to Korea, mostly south of South Pyongan and Gyeonggi provinces, where it's often planted near houses. It isn't known to grow wild in the US.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Korean botanists treat it as its own species, while many Chinese and Western classifications fold it into the princess tree; in horticulture it is sometimes sold as Paulownia tomentosa 'Coreana'.
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