Paulownia tomentosa (also known as the Empress Tree, Princess Tree or Foxglove Tree; pao tong 泡桐 in Chinese; kiri 桐 in Japanese) is a eciduous tree in the genus Paulownia, native to central and western China, but invasive in the US . It grows to 10-25 m tall, with large heart-shaped to five-lobed leaves 15-40 cm across, arranged in opposite pairs on the stem. On young growth, the leaves may be in whorls of three and be much bigger than the leaves on more mature growth (image comparing large and small trees). The characteristic large size of the young growth is exploited by gardeners : by pollarding the tree and ensuring there is vigorous new growth every year, massive leaves are produced (up to 60cm across). These are popular in the modern style of gardening which uses large-foliaged and "architectural" plants.