Japanese use of Paulownia can be traced back to A.D. 200. A tradition was developed that when a family had a daughter they would plant a Paulownia tree. When she married the tree would be cut down and made into her wedding chest. They also believed that when the tree was planted close to the house that the Pheonix would come and bring them good luck. China has historically been the largest grower of Paulownia. They use the wood for making furniture, housing construction, toys, plywood, musical instruments and for packaging.
Paulownia tree is native to China. According to both legends and records, dating back 2600 years, people in ancient times used Paulownia Trees for various purposes. In the work Zhung Tze, it is recorded "Phoenix flew from the south sea to the north sea without perching on trees other than Paulownia and without eating anything but bamboo fruit".
The Chinese have been planting Paulownia Trees for many centuries around their dwellings in order to bring good luck and to attract the Phoenix.
At present in China, intercropping with Paulownia is being carried out on some 1,300,000 hectares of land throughout the whole country. Some other countries have also established forestry research institutes and experimental stations to conduct research on Paulownia Trees. In Australia, almost all the research has been carried out by a few individuals. In real terms, the Paulownia Tree is really the tree of the future. It is still in the infancy stage of its development here in Australia. Interest has been slowly developing since the late 80's. The 90's has seen more people interested in growing these trees, mainly because of its unique growth rate.
