Princess tree, Foxglove tree

Description

The princess tree is a fast-growing deciduous tree from China which does very little by halves. It produces enormous, softly hairy, heart-shaped leaves, giving it an almost tropical appearance. Mature trees bear upright clusters of fragrant, pale lilac flowers in spring, shaped rather like foxgloves—hence one of its common names.

It can eventually reach a considerable size, although coppicing or pollarding encourages even larger leaves at the expense of the flowers. Barrie is pictured here providing scale and appearing to approach the specimen with appropriate caution.