| Author | (Thunberg) Siebold & Zuccarini ex Steudel | |
| Distribution | Throughout much of the state, except scarce in the northern Mountains, in the Sandhills, and in the southern 2/3 of the Coastal Plain. First collected in 1920 in Polk County ("cultivated and naturalized"), then in the 1930s in Orange County.
Native of China; in N.A. MA to IL and MO, south to FL and TX; also OR, WA. | |
| Abundance | Locally quite common in the southern Mountains; fairly common in the Piedmont, uncommon in the northern Coastal Plain, but rare in the Sandhills. It is an aggressive weedy tree in parts of the Mountains. | |
| Habitat | Roadsides, edges of woods, railroads, disturbed woods, treefall gaps, campus weed. It is a noxious exotic on rocky roadcuts, such as along I-40 through Pigeon River Gorge and in the Hickory Nut Gorge region of Rutherford-Henderson-Buncombe counties. | |
| Phenology | Flowering April-June -- very showy when in flower, especially as the leaves are not yet fully emerged; fruiting September-October, and remaining visible into the winter. | |
| Identification | This non-native tree is a familiar one in the state, especially so in the western parts. It is easily identified by the combination of small to medium tree, abundant and large lavender-violet, tubular flowers, and large broadly ovate leaves -- often 6-10 inches long and wide. The large brown, rounded capsules are easily seen in fall and winter, as they are arranged in a conical panicle. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | For decades placed within the Scrophulariaceae, but molecular studies have suggested that the genus Paulownia belongs in its own family -- Paulowniaceae.
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| Other Common Name(s) | | |
| State Rank | SE | |
| Global Rank | GNR | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | UPL link |
| USACE-emp | UPL link |
