Is this giant burdock? - Ask Extension
I have a plant growing in my pasture next to my burn pile that has huge leaves (24" across) on a central hollow stalk that I have been told may be gia...
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Is this giant burdock? #209830
Asked August 30, 2014, 11:50 AM EDT
I have a plant growing in my pasture next to my burn pile that has huge leaves (24" across) on a central hollow stalk that I have been told may be giant burdock. The leaves are fuzzy and in the 3 years that it has been growing I have seen no flowers, but it gets burned each year when I burn my burn pile in March & October.
Clackamas County Oregon
Expert Response
Your mystery plant is the Empress tree, Paulownia tomentosa, which seeds around quite freely here in the northwest. Also called the princess tree, these particular trees don’t act at all like woody plants in their seedling stage. Instead, they grow then die back every year just as do herbaceous perennials. They become very large trees which tend to break during windy weather. Once mature, they flower in the spring if the buds weren’t damaged by winter’s cold. http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=145
