Paulownia
The paulownia tree is the fastest growing hardwood tree in the world. It is for this reason it makes for such a sustainable high quality wood in our furniture.
Although the tree is native to Southeast Asia, the tree is now being grown on plantations within the UK. These plantations will not become invasive as the trees used are sterile.
These plantations will not only offer us in the UK local sustainable hardwood but will also help the UK reach its net zero emissions targets. Due to the trees fast growing rate the tree species acts as one of the best carbon sinks in reducing CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. In addition to this the cutting of the wood is virtually waste free due to the nature of the lack of knots in the wood.
Some of the properties of paulownia wood include:
- Being the lightest of timbers, other than balsa
- The highest strength to weight ratio of any wood
- Rot resistant
- High insulation properties
- Fire resistance when compared with other woods