Paulownia fortunei seed
LATIN NAME: Paulownia fortunei
COMMON NAME: Dragon Tree, Fortune’s Empress Tree, Princess Tree
Fortune’s empress tree is one of the fastest-growing trees in the world, and its great heads of violet-blue bloom and its huge leaves have made it a celebrated tree of the warm regions. It grows as a fast-growing, deciduous tree, reaching up to twenty-five metres and more, with a straight trunk and a broad crown of enormous, heart-shaped leaves, and, in early spring, before the leaves, the large, upright, showy panicles of many fragrant, trumpet-shaped flowers in violet-blue or pale lavender, followed by the woody capsules of many tiny, winged seeds. It is native to southeastern China, Laos and Vietnam, and it is an extremely fast-growing tree, while it has been planted around the warm world for its timber and its beauty.
Fortune’s empress tree belongs to the empress tree family, Paulowniaceae, and it is a deciduous tree native to southeastern China, Laos and Vietnam. It is commonly called the dragon tree, the dragon tree or Fortune’s empress tree, and it is an extremely fast-growing tree, prized for its timber and its violet-blue bloom.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
Fortune’s empress tree has a genuine and growing place in both forestry and ecological research. It has been studied in forestry science, since it is one of the fastest-growing trees in the world, and researchers have examined its growth, its timber and its management, while its light, strong, straight-grained wood has been valued, and the extraordinary growth of the empress trees has made them of real interest in the study of the fast-growing timber trees. The tree has also been studied in the research on carbon and on the environment, since its fast growth takes up carbon quickly, and the empress trees have drawn attention in the international forestry and environmental press as a possible tree for the fast timber and the carbon projects, while its value in the production of the wood has been examined. The species has also been studied in ecology, since it is a native of southeastern China, and its growth and its management have been examined, while it has been planted in many warm regions. For a tree of such astonishing growth, Fortune’s empress tree has a rich and growing record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, Fortune’s empress tree is a generous tree of the warm regions. Its violet-blue flowers feed the bees and the early insects, its huge leaves give shade and shelter, and its tiny, winged seeds feed the small animals, while it is a fast and handsome presence in the warm landscape.
Its economic value is real and growing. It is one of the fastest-growing trees in the world, and its light, strong wood is valued for the timber, while the fast growth and the carbon uptake of the empress trees have drawn attention in the international forestry and environmental press, and the tree is also a handsome ornamental with a spectacular early bloom. For a grower, Fortune’s empress tree is an easy and astonishingly fast tree, and for a gardener it brings violet-blue bloom and huge leaves in a very few years. The seeds are easy — sow them in a pot of moist, free-draining compost in a warm, sunny spot, water them gently, and they’ll sprout within a couple of weeks, growing on into one of the fastest-growing trees in the world.
also known as Dragon Tree, Fortunes Empress Tree, Sapphire Tree, and Phoenix Tree. This fast growing tree likes to live in full sun where its lavender and violet blossoms are on display from the middle of the Spring until early Summer. This genus of plant was named in honour of Anna Paulowna, the daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia, and queen consort of The Netherlands from 1795 to 1865. This is a popular ornamental tree because of its beautiful blossoms. The wood is light and used in making musical instruments such as guitars. A Fender Telecaster guitar was made out of Paulownia for Brad Paisley.