Does anybody know what this is? It comes from hawaii, as I recall the seeds are poisonous. Gross to a very tall tree. As you can see the leaves emerge a reddish color very furry and then it all becomes a greenish color with not quite as much fuzz. The trees seem to grow very straight with no branches until the tree gets quite tall. Any help would be appreciated

I am in Puna, east Hawai’i island, and I do not recognize that at least from the photos? Hmmmm…

Firmiana simplex? Is the stem/trunk green and smooth? The new red leaves are not typical of Firmiana so I might be wrong.

I think there's a good chance that's Paulownia tomentosa. Although it's a tree from temperate areas of China, it was introduced and became invasive in some areas of Hawai'i, so it's possible you could have found it there.

I know the seeds came from a botanical garden just can't remember which one. It grows extremely tall doesn't branch much until it gets very tall. Leaves are very fuzzy new ones are coming in that are very red I might add another picture

On 7/19/2026 at 7:30 PM, mnorell said:

I think there's a good chance that's Paulownia tomentosa. Although it's a tree from temperate areas of China, it was introduced and became invasive in some areas of Hawai'i, so it's possible you could have found it there.

You hit on my question Michael. Was the seed from Hawaii but not a native Hawaiian plant or is it a Hawaiian native?

We all know how Botanical Gardens are filled with tropical plants from all corners of the globe in Hawaii.

On 7/20/2026 at 5:33 PM, popper1 said:

I know the seeds came from a botanical garden just can't remember which one. It grows extremely tall doesn't branch much until it gets very tall. Leaves are very fuzzy new ones are coming in that are very red I might add another picture

Additional photos will probably be helpful. Also, see above.