Paulownia lankao has straight trunk, broad crown, oval or oblate shape. The bark is grayish brown. Branchlets are long at internodes. The leaves are ovate or broadly ovate, with blunt or sharp apex, whole or divided, green or yellowish green at the top, shiny, and grayish yellow or gray stellate hairs at the bottom. Inflorescence is narrowly conical, bud pear-shaped and obovate, flowers are large, 8 ~ 10 cm long, calyx bell-shaped and obovate, corolla bell-shaped and funnel-shaped, light purple. The capsule is ovoid or oval, 3-5 cm long and 2-3 cm in diameter. Hands with fine hair and no sticky glands. The seeds are small, oval, and the wings are 5 ~ 6 mm long.
Paulownia Bunge has a straight trunk and a conical crown. Leaves like catalpa bungeana leaves, long oval, drooping leaves, long sharp apex, entire, dark green above. Corolla is slender, tubular and funnel-shaped, lavender, 7.5 ~ 8 cm long. Capsule is small, oval and 4.5 ~ 5.5 cm long.
Paulownia tomentosa has a low curved trunk and an umbrella-shaped crown. Branchlets, leaves, flowers and fruits are hairy. Leaves ovate or broadly ovate. Inflorescence is broadly conical, bud is nearly spherical, calyx is deeply divided, hair does not fall off, corolla is bell-shaped, bright purple or blue-purple. Capsule ovoid, surrounded by papillary glands, sticky hands.
The height of paulownia tree can reach 27 meters, and DBH can reach 2 meters. Young branches and leaves are covered with dendritic hairs and glandular hairs. The leaves are heart-shaped, long-ovate, the apex is acuminate, the whole leaves are conical cymes, the corolla is white or lavender, the abdominal fold is not obvious, and the calyx is lobed. Capsule oval, 6 ~ 10 cm long, thick peel, woody.
Paulownia chuanensis is densely covered with brown star-shaped villi, and the surface of branches and leaves is hairless. Leaves heart-shaped, broadly ovate, non-sticky. Cymes sessile or short. Corolla white or purple, bell-shaped, abruptly raised above the base bending, calyx bell-shaped, lobes ovate, not retrorse. Capsule ovoid, 4 cm long, leathery.
According to Platanus, there are three main species: Platanus hainanensis, Platanus yunnanensis and Platanus americana. According to the classification of Sterculiaceae, there are 68 genera, about 1 100 species, distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the eastern and western hemispheres, and only a few species can be distributed in temperate regions.
Platanus acerifolia grows rapidly, the wood is suitable for making musical instruments, the bark can be used for making paper and rope, and the seeds can be eaten or pressed for oil. Because of its smooth trunk and beautiful leaves, it is a famous ornamental tree. In ancient China, it was said that Phoenix was not a phoenix tree. Many legendary guqin are made of phoenix tree, which plays an important role in China culture. The writer Feng Zikai's article of the same name "Buttonwood Tree" is a very good one. Platanus acerifolia as an ornamental tree species has been introduced to Europe, America and many other countries.
Extended answer:
Confusable varieties: The "Platanus acerifolia" that people are used to talking about is just one kind of Platanus acerifolia. It turns out that there are 8 species of Platanus acerifolia, which are native to North America, Mexico, the Mediterranean and India. Three species were introduced to China for cultivation. There are/kloc-0 cones, 2 cones and more than 3 cones in the fruit stalk of Platanus acerifolia, so the names are different. They are called Platanus acerifolia, Platanus acerifolia and Platanus acerifolia, and they are three different species. Li's story can be summed up as follows:
1, Platanus acerifolia (Platanus acerifolia)
2. Platanus acerifolia (Platanus)
3. Platanus acerifolia (Platanus)
The above three trees belong to Rosaceae and so on. Therefore, it is not recommended to put them in phoenix tree, because their seedlings are similar to phoenix tree, not the same family and genus.
References:
Baidu encyclopedia-buttonwood