878 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



The Paulownia Tree. Faulownia. 



Nat. Ord. Scrophulariaceae. Lin. Syst. 



The Paulownia is an entirely new ornamental tree, ver} 

 lately introduced into our gardens and pleasure-grounds 

 from Japan, and is likely to prove hardy here, wherever 

 the Ailantus stands the winter, being naturally from the 

 same soil and climate as that tree. It has already attained 

 a great notoriety in the gardening world of the other 

 continent ; and from a cost of four or five guineas a plant, 

 it is now reduced to as many shillings, being very readily 

 propagated. In the north of France it is perfectly hardy, 

 and will no doubt prove equally so here, south of the 

 latitude of Boston. With our own plants being newly 

 received, we have not yet had the opportunity of testing 

 this point. 



The Paulownia is remarkable for the large size of its 

 foHage, and the great rapidity of its growth. The largest 

 leaves are more than two feet in diameter, slightly rough 

 or hairy, and serrated on the edges. They are heart- 

 shaped, and have been likened to those of the Catalpa, but 

 they perhaps more nearly resemble those of the common 

 sun-flower. 



In its growth, this tree, while young, equals or exceeds 

 the Ailantus. In rich soils, near Paris, it has produced 

 shoots, in a single season, 12 or 14 feet in length. After 

 being two or three years planted, it commences yielding 

 its blossoms in panicled clusters. These are bluish lilac, 

 of an open mouthed, tubular form, are very abundantly 

 distributed, and, together with the large foliage, and the 

 robust habit of growth, give this tree a gay and striking 



