Paulownia tomentosa

Empress Tree ( Paulownia tomentosa)

The Empress Tree ( Paulownia tomentosa, syn: P. imperialis ), also known as Emperor tree or Kaiser Paulownie, is a species of the genus Paulownia (Paulownia ), which in turn forms the monotypic family paulownia plants within the order of Lippenblütlerartigen ( Lamiales ).

Occurrence

The paulownia is native to central and western China. He is well beyond this cultivated in Korea, Japan, North America and Europe as an ornamental tree, especially in climatically heat- favored regions, where it occurs as an invasive species.

In relation to the ground he is unpretentious, preferably not too poor, moderately dry soils. A warm, sheltered location in a sunny location is important for the paulownia. In his youth, he is sensitive to frost and requires winter protection by integrating with straw mats or antifreeze. After cutting back the frozen shoots done a strong new growth. Later, the Empress tree is hardy.

Description

The paulownia grows as a deciduous, deciduous tree with growth heights of up to 15 meters. It is a tree with a straight trunk, thick branches and broad, light crown. The bark is smooth and gray.

Note the opposite continuously arranged, up to 45 inches wide ( at young plants up to 10 cm wide ) leaves. The leaves are long-petiolate, dull dark green to light green and velvety hairy hand.

The buds are conspicuous chestnut -brown to reddish-brown hairy. From April to May, the flowers appear in branched erect, up to 40 centimeters high racemose inflorescences before the leaves emerge. The bell-shaped, pink purple and yellow on the inside striped flowers are 5-6 inches long.

The wide capsule fruit with beak tip is first greenish, later brown and dry until the next flowering ( during the winter ) on the tree. It contains about 600 light, membranous winged seeds in two subjects.

The large purple inflorescences, a nut -like fruit capsules as well as the velvety red-brown hair on the tips of the branches make the paulownia unmistakable. Due to the similar leaf jewelry it is often confused with the trumpet tree.

Fruits

Flower buds ( in the autumn of the previous year )

Ingredients

The paulownia contains Verbascosid. This is a glucoside compound with glucose as sugar component, and rhamnose, as well as a 3,4- dihydroxyphenyl -1 - hydroxyethanol and a 3,4- Dihydroxyphenylzimtsäure residue at the glucose component.

Use

The wood of the paulownia tree is often used due to its high incidence and good properties as sound wood in China for the production of musical instruments. Thus, the body made of paulownia wood, for example, made ​​with many exported to Europe electric guitars. Also for the production of table tennis wood, core veneers from the timber (in this context often called Japanese Kiri ) often used.

Due to the rapid growth of the plant ( especially in the first year ) has already been researched in the 1980s to agricultural usefulness.

History

After Europe, the paulownia from Würzburg naturalist, physician and Japanese studies, Philipp Franz von Siebold was brought. Siebold was in Dutch service and named the tree after the Dutch Crown Princess and later Queen Anna ( Pavlovna ), who was a daughter of the Russian Tsar Paul I.. The paulownia tree was the favorite of Emperor Franz Joseph. Many of the trees that are in all the countries of the former Austrian Empire, today, have been planted there because of its arrangement. This means that the accumulation of paulownia trees in the centers of the former monarchy (eg, bathing, Schönbrunn ) explainable.

The paulownia was part of a variety of Japanese crest ( mon), including a variant - Go- Shichi no Kiri called (Japanese五七の桐) - with three veined leaves and two 5-piece as well as a seven -part bloom, the next chrysanthemum was led by the Japanese imperial family. Today, this is the coat of arms of the Prime Minister and his cabinet.

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