Sons of David Foundation on Paulownia: Paulownia: The World’s Most Versatile Wood!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Paulownia: The World’s Most Versatile Wood!


Most people know the Royal Empress Tree as the world’s fastest growing shade tree. Its extraordinarily fast growth (as much as ten feet per year) and beautiful springtime blooms have endeared this tree to many homeowners. However, this tree is also being grown commercially and people are starting to notice the incredible versatility of this wood.

Empress Tree wood is almost one third the weight of Oak and half the weight of Pine. Nevertheless, it has one of the highest strength to weight ratios of any wood. This makes it perfect for the manufacture of plywood, moldings, window frames and other building materials. Additionally, it’s ideal for industries that require high strength to weight ratios in products such as boats, surfboards, and RV’s.

Also, the tree’s high temperature resistance makes the wood extremely fire resistant. Consequently, it’s very desirable in your home. Ignition temperature is about 400 degrees Celsius, twice that of conventional woods.

Royal Empress (Paulownia) wood is also extremely stable. It is rot-resistant and won’t warp or crack. This makes it outstanding in the manufacture of furniture and handicrafts of all kinds.

The high consistency of sound radiation quality of Empress Tree wood also makes it highly prized in the production of musical instruments. Empress Trees are even used as animal feeds and for medicinal purposes!

There is seemingly no end to the high quality uses for the Royal Empress Tree, the world’s most versatile wood.

1 comment:

Ngoh Thiam Meng said...

Hello. Yes, Paulownia indeed has unique resonant properties. I made a guitar exclusively out of Paulownia and the results are very inspiring. With so many other great timber properties and the romance of folk traditions surrounding this tree called Paulownia, it is, I agree - "the world's most versatile wood!"!