Have you ever actually worked with US-grown paulownia? I have. It is far
closer to balsa than it is to poplar -- soft and porous and light. The
paulownia that is favored in Japan for tansu is much different, not in
species but in growing conditions. They harvest slow-growing wood from
the mountains. But even in Japan paulownia was favored in some
specialized niches, not for general furniture building. For example it
was used for interior compartments in sea chests because the wood would
swell if it got wet and effectively seal the lid protecting the contents
of that compartment. Tansu was far more likely to be made of pine,
cryptomeria, cypress, or chestnut. And paulownia, if present at all,
would be for interior dividers and such. From what I've read, US-farmed
paulownia is considered inferior in Japan and seems to wind up as a
filler in plywood *when it is used at all.


Reminds me of a conversation I had about 15 years ago with an emu
farmer. He went on at length about the unique virtues of that large
flightless bird.

"You can use every part of the bird. The meat is delicious and very
healthy, and they make this oil that is highly prized in the perfume
industry, and even the feathers are used to make fishing lures and
ladies hats."

I asked him how much a bird was worth.

"I get three thousand dollars for a breeding pair!"

"But how much does a bird bring for slaughter?"

"Oh, nobody's slaughtering any yet, 'cause they're too valuable. But
once the grower's market is filled, they'll be worth about five
hundred dollars a bird."

A few years after that, I saw several articles in the newspaper about
the problem emus caused when farmers simply turned them loose rather
than continue to feed them. When the grower's market was saturated
there was no other market.

I predict the paulownia tree will be the emu of the plant kingdom.

DonkeyHody
"Even an old blind hog finds an acorn every now and then."