Mystery tree

mikewhite85 · Nov 29, 2011

It's a mystery to me, maybe not to you?

I have never seen one of these before and it is not in my Western Trees book. The leaves are huge, the nuts/seeds come in clusters, and the wood appears to be very brittle and light. There also appears to be something eating the leaves...

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muddawg · Nov 29, 2011

???

opcorn:

RVALUE · Nov 29, 2011

mikewhite85 said:
It's a mystery to me, maybe not to you?

I have never seen one of these before and it is not in my Western Trees book. The leaves are huge, the nuts/seeds come in clusters, and the wood appears to be very brittle and light. There also appears to be something eating the leaves...

View attachment 209020 View attachment 209021

That rules out kudzu. Nothing eats it, and it aint brittle. :hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

greendohn · Nov 29, 2011

it's a fire wood tree,,,seasoned,,it'll burn better than snow balls !! aint no other kind is there ???

Toddppm · Nov 29, 2011

Paulownia, worth some good $$$ if a nice straight trunk or at least used to be?

Wow just saw that second pic of the trunk. That's a big one, do some research before you cut it down if that's what you're doing!

abouttrees · Nov 29, 2011

Paulownia tormentosa, we call them "fox-glove" trees over here due to the flowers looking like.......yep you've guessed it......Fox-gloves.

Quite common in continental europe, not particularly strong to climb and have a hollow pith

Lovely specimen tree though.

PJM · Nov 29, 2011

Agree that this is royal paulownia (empress tree). It should be noted that in some areas this tree has shown some invasive qualities, especially in the southeastern US.

mikewhite85 · Nov 29, 2011

Thanks for the help. We are just trimming a couple branches from the roof. The tree is probably 60-70' tall. Never seen anything like it before.

nandoz · Nov 29, 2011

Poisonous?

My mother had a little plant in her back yard that she called foxglove. Said they made some kind of heart meds from it. Also said it was really poisonous.

ATH · Nov 30, 2011

Toddppm said:
Paulownia, worth some good $$$ if a nice straight trunk or at least used to be?

I have heard a lot of people say that, never talked to anybody that has sold or bought one for anything. Word is that they are wanted in Japan, but you need to have more than 7 rings per inch. They normally have more like 2 rings per inch. The way I heard it put, is the wider rings don't make them worth less, it makes them worthless.

pdqdl · Nov 30, 2011

I discovered these trees last year; largely because I came across a couple that I didn't recognize. There is a very nice specimen tree just down the road from my shop, but most of them in this area are just shoots growing out of a stump that keeps getting winter-killed.

Apparently, they have been sold in the past by mail order seed catalogs that didn't tell folks up north that it wasn't likely to turn out well planted too far north. They are truly spectacular in the late spring when they are in full flower.

More about them here: Paulownia tomentosa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yes! The wood is highly prized, but mostly just for some japanese musical instruments that you probably never heard of.

RVALUE · Nov 30, 2011

You guys are much more savvy than me. I didn't see all these pictures that you saw.

Toddppm · Nov 30, 2011

ATH said:
I have heard a lot of people say that, never talked to anybody that has sold or bought one for anything. Word is that they are wanted in Japan, but you need to have more than 7 rings per inch. They normally have more like 2 rings per inch. The way I heard it put, is the wider rings don't make them worth less, it makes them worthless.

They grow pretty good here. You see guys in the news almost every spring when they flower that get busted for stealing them. I knew of some guys that had trucks set up specifically to pull them out in a hurry.
Never heard of how many rings/inch but the only ones I ever tried to sell aparently weren't worth much and I ended up throwing them out.

mikewhite85 · Dec 1, 2011

The trimming is turning into a removal due to a crazy wind storm last night. Branches fell all over the neighbors. Any advice on cutting these things down?

Toddppm · Dec 1, 2011

They're weak wooded and brittle like an Ailanthus if you have those there.

Zale · Dec 1, 2011

mikewhite85 said:
The trimming is turning into a removal due to a crazy wind storm last night. Branches fell all over the neighbors. Any advice on cutting these things down?

If you have the space for it, use a crane. You might be able to sell the log if you are lucky. The value is based on the tightness of the growth rings. The more stressed the tree = higher value. Its a niche market but you never know. I sold a 36" log for $1200 many years ago but that was it. All others I have removed were not worth anything.

pdqdl · Dec 1, 2011

36" ?? !!

The biggest I have seen would be lucky to make 12" at the root flare.

Zale · Dec 2, 2011

pdqdl said:
36" ?? !!

The biggest I have seen would be lucky to make 12" at the root flare.

It was in an old part of town in a court yard. So the thieves couldn't get to it. We were not sure how old the tree was because it was hollow. The house dated to the early 1900s. I've read the market in the US for this wood has collapsed due to the fact the chinese are now growing plantations to meet demand in Japan.

darkbyrd · Dec 20, 2011

PJM said:
Agree that this is royal paulownia (empress tree). It should be noted that in some areas this tree has shown some invasive qualities, especially in the southeastern US.

Agreed. I girdle them when I find them in my woods. Also, VERY fast growing. The sprouts from those girdled tree grow 20' in a season. The neighbor across the street had one that would grow into the power lines. Twice in three years(!) the power company had to come out in the dark to cut it back because it started arcing on the lines.

Pretty flowers in the spring though.

Mystery tree

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