The genus of trees Paulownia was coined by a Dutch botanist named Siebold to honour Anna Pavlovna.
Like many other natural areas in the eastern United States, the forest has a significant problem with invasive exotics, including tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), autumn olive (Eleagnus umbellata), Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), and princess tree (Paulownia tomentosa).
An admirer of Japanese art, Maciunas asked Saito if she could make boxes similar to the Paulownia boxes he owned, which had been made to protect expensive ceramics.