7. Flatbush Avenue Entrace Area

Empress Tree (Paulownia tomentosa)

Photo: Romi Ige.

Empress trees can produce gigantic leaves up to three feet long and wide. But the real showstoppers are the tree's highly fragrant, lilac-hued flowers. An old Chinese custom was to plant an empress tree upon the birth of a baby girl. Because the tree matures quickly, by the time the girl was of marrying age, the tree was large enough to be cut down and carved into a wooden dowry chest.

Notable Neighbors:

• 7A. Empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
• 7B. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
• 7C. Lavalle's cork tree (Phellodendron lavallei)
• 7D. Pin oak grove (Quercus palustris)