Catalpa
Encyclopedia
Catalpa, commonly called catalpa or catawba, is a genus of flowering plant
s in the trumpet vine
family, Bignoniaceae
, native to warm temperate regions of North America
, the Caribbean
, and East Asia
.
Catalpas, mostly deciduous
tree
s, typically grow to 12–18 m (39.4–59.1 ft) tall and 6–12 m (19.7–39.4 ft) wide. A 10-year-old sapling will stand about 6 metres (19.7 ft) tall. They can be recognized by their large, heart-shaped to three-lobed leaves
, showy white or yellow flower
s in broad panicle
s, and in the autumn by their 20–50 cm (7.9–19.7 in) long fruit
s, which resemble a slender bean
pod, containing numerous small flat seeds, each seed having two thin wings to aid in wind dispersal. Because of the leaves, they are sometimes confused with the tung tree (Vernicia fordii) in the southern U.S., or the invasive Paulownia tomentosa
imported from China.
Due to their large leaf size, catalpas provide very dark shade and are a popular habitat for many birds, providing them good shelter from rain and wind. These trees have very little limb droppage, but drop large, dark brown bean pods during late summer. The wood of catalpas is quite soft.
The two North America
n species, southern catalpa
(Catalpa bignonioides), and northern catalpa
(Catalpa speciosa) have been widely planted outside their natural ranges as ornamental trees
for their showy flowers and attractive shape, or growing habit. Northern and southern catalpas are very similar in appearance, but the northern species has slightly larger leaves, flowers, and bean pods. Flowering starts after 275 growing degree day
s. The yellow catalpa
(Catalpa ovata) from China
, with pale yellow flowers, is also planted outside its natural range for ornamental purposes.
The name derives from the Catawba
Native American
name catawba for these trees (the tribal totem
), with the spelling catalpa being due to a transcription error
on the part of the describing botanist (Scopoli) making the first formal scientific description of the genus. The rules of botanical naming state that the spelling used in the formal scientific description has to be retained for the scientific name. The name in vernacular use has very largely (though not completely) followed Scopoli's erroneous transcription, with catawba still in use in some areas of the United States, most particularly within the trees' native range.
The bean-like seed pod is the origin of the alternative vernacular names Indian bean tree and cigar tree for Catalpa bignonioides and Catalpa speciosa, respectively.
The tree is the sole source of food for the catalpa sphinx moth (Ceratomia catalpae
), the leaves being eaten by the caterpillar
s. When caterpillars are numerous, infested trees may be completely defoliated. Defoliated catalpas produce new leaves readily, but with multiple generations occurring, new foliage may be consumed by subsequent broods. Severe defoliation over several consecutive years can cause death of trees. Because the caterpillars are an excellent live bait for fishing, some dedicated anglers plant catalpa mini-orchards for their own private source of "catawba-worms", particularly in the southern states.
The largest living catalpa tree is on the grounds of the Michigan State Capitol
in Lansing, Michigan
; it was planted in the year of its dedication, 1879. The oldest is the 150-year-old specimen in the Minster graveyard of St Mary’s Butts
in the English town of Reading
in Berkshire
, although this is soon to be replaced, passing the claim to Rochester's 140-year-old catalpa situated in front of the town's cathedral
.
Catalpa is also occasionally used as a tonewood
in guitar
s.
Catalpa brevipes
Urb. -
Catalpa bungei C.A.Mey. -
Catalpa cassinoides Spreng. -
Catalpa communis Dum.Cours. -
Catalpa cordifolia Moench -
Catalpa denticulata Urb. -
Catalpa domingensis Urb. -
Catalpa duclouxii Dode -
Catalpa ekmaniana Urb. -
Catalpa fargesii Bur. -
Catalpa henryi Dode -
Catalpa heterophylla Dode -
Catalpa himalayensis Hort. ex Dippel -
Catalpa hirsuta Spreng. -
Catalpa kaempferi Siebold & Zucc. -
Catalpa longisiliqua Cham. -
Catalpa longissima (Jacq.) Dum.Cours. - Haitian catalpa
Catalpa macrocarpa Ekman -
Catalpa microphylla Spreng. -
Catalpa nana Hort. ex Dippel -
Catalpa oblongata Urb. & Ekman -
Catalpa obovata Urb. -
Catalpa ovata
G.Don - yellow catalpa
Catalpa pottsii Seem. -
Catalpa pubescens (Griseb.) Bisse -
Catalpa pumila Hort. ex Wien. -
Catalpa punctata Griseb. -
Catalpa purpurea Griseb. -
Catalpa silvestrii (Pamp. & Bonati) S.Y.Hu -
Catalpa speciosa Warder ex Engelm. - northern catalpa
Catalpa sutchuensis Dode -
Catalpa ternifolia Cav. -
Catalpa thunbergii Hort. ex Wien. -
Catalpa tibetica Forrest -
Catalpa umbraculifera Hort. -
Catalpa vestita Diels -
Catalpa wallichiana Hort. ex Wien. -
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the trumpet vine
Trumpet vine
The trumpet vine or trumpet creeper , also known as "cow itch vine" and as "hummingbird vine", is a large and vigorous woody vine of the family Bignoniaceae, notable for its showy trumpet-shaped flowers...
family, Bignoniaceae
Bignoniaceae
The Bignoniaceae, or Trumpet Creeper Family, is a family of flowering plants comprising about 650-750 species in 116-120 genera. Members of the family are mostly trees and lianas , shrubs and more rarely herbaceous plants. As climber plants, they are twine climbers or tendril climbers, and rarely...
, native to warm temperate regions of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, and East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
.
Catalpas, mostly deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, typically grow to 12–18 m (39.4–59.1 ft) tall and 6–12 m (19.7–39.4 ft) wide. A 10-year-old sapling will stand about 6 metres (19.7 ft) tall. They can be recognized by their large, heart-shaped to three-lobed leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
, showy white or yellow flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s in broad panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
s, and in the autumn by their 20–50 cm (7.9–19.7 in) long fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s, which resemble a slender bean
Bean
Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
pod, containing numerous small flat seeds, each seed having two thin wings to aid in wind dispersal. Because of the leaves, they are sometimes confused with the tung tree (Vernicia fordii) in the southern U.S., or the invasive Paulownia tomentosa
Paulownia tomentosa
Paulownia tomentosa is a deciduous tree in the genus Paulownia, native to central and western China, but invasive in the US...
imported from China.
Due to their large leaf size, catalpas provide very dark shade and are a popular habitat for many birds, providing them good shelter from rain and wind. These trees have very little limb droppage, but drop large, dark brown bean pods during late summer. The wood of catalpas is quite soft.
The two North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n species, southern catalpa
Southern Catalpa
Catalpa bignonioides is a species of Catalpa that is native to the southeastern United States in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi...
(Catalpa bignonioides), and northern catalpa
Northern Catalpa
Catalpa speciosa, commonly known as the northern catalpa, hardy catalpa, western catalpa, cigar tree, and catawba-tree,is a species of Catalpa native to the midwestern United States....
(Catalpa speciosa) have been widely planted outside their natural ranges as ornamental trees
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
for their showy flowers and attractive shape, or growing habit. Northern and southern catalpas are very similar in appearance, but the northern species has slightly larger leaves, flowers, and bean pods. Flowering starts after 275 growing degree day
Growing degree day
Growing degree days , also called growing degree units , are a heuristic tool in phenology. GDD are a measure of heat accumulation used by horticulturists, gardeners, and farmers to predict plant and pest development rates such as the date that a flower will bloom or a crop reach...
s. The yellow catalpa
Catalpa ovata
Catalpa ovata, the yellow catalpa or Chinese catalpa , is a pod-bearing tree native to China. Compared to C. speciosa, it is much smaller, typically reaching heights between 20 and 30 feet. The inflorescences form bunches of creamy white flowers with distinctly yellow tinging; individual flowers...
(Catalpa ovata) from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, with pale yellow flowers, is also planted outside its natural range for ornamental purposes.
Catawba (tribe)
The Catawba are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans, known as the Catawba Indian Nation. They live in the Southeast United States, along the border between North and South Carolina near the city of Rock Hill...
Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
name catawba for these trees (the tribal totem
Totem
A totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
), with the spelling catalpa being due to a transcription error
Transcription error
A transcription error is a specific type of data entry error that is commonly made by human operators or by optical character recognition programs . Human transcription errors are commonly the result of typographical mistakes, putting fingers in the wrong place during touch typing is the easiest...
on the part of the describing botanist (Scopoli) making the first formal scientific description of the genus. The rules of botanical naming state that the spelling used in the formal scientific description has to be retained for the scientific name. The name in vernacular use has very largely (though not completely) followed Scopoli's erroneous transcription, with catawba still in use in some areas of the United States, most particularly within the trees' native range.
The bean-like seed pod is the origin of the alternative vernacular names Indian bean tree and cigar tree for Catalpa bignonioides and Catalpa speciosa, respectively.
The tree is the sole source of food for the catalpa sphinx moth (Ceratomia catalpae
Ceratomia catalpae
The Catalpa Sphinx is a hawk moth of the Sphingidae family.-Range:Ceratomia catalpae is a native of southeastern North America and can be located on catalpa trees that grow within this region...
), the leaves being eaten by the caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s. When caterpillars are numerous, infested trees may be completely defoliated. Defoliated catalpas produce new leaves readily, but with multiple generations occurring, new foliage may be consumed by subsequent broods. Severe defoliation over several consecutive years can cause death of trees. Because the caterpillars are an excellent live bait for fishing, some dedicated anglers plant catalpa mini-orchards for their own private source of "catawba-worms", particularly in the southern states.
Michigan State Capitol
The Michigan State Capitol is the building housing the legislative and executive branches of the government of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in the state capital of Lansing in Ingham County...
in Lansing, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
; it was planted in the year of its dedication, 1879. The oldest is the 150-year-old specimen in the Minster graveyard of St Mary’s Butts
Reading Minster
Reading Minster, or the Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin as it is more properly known, is the oldest ecclesiastical foundation in the English town of Reading...
in the English town of Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, although this is soon to be replaced, passing the claim to Rochester's 140-year-old catalpa situated in front of the town's cathedral
Rochester Cathedral
Rochester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Norman church in Rochester, Kent. The bishopric is second oldest in England after Canterbury...
.
Catalpa is also occasionally used as a tonewood
Tonewood
Tonewood generally refers to any wood which may be used in the construction of a musical instrument. Many acoustic properties are often assigned to specific wood species; however the description of these properties is itself a large subject and beyond the scope of this article...
in guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s.
Selected species
Catalpa bignonioides Walter - southern catalpaCatalpa brevipes
Catalpa brevipes
Catalpa brevipes is a species of small tree in the Bignoniaceae family. It is found in only three countries: Cuba ; the Dominican Republic ; and Haiti .Its habitat is dry, limestone-soil forests....
Urb. -
Catalpa bungei C.A.Mey. -
Catalpa cassinoides Spreng. -
Catalpa communis Dum.Cours. -
Catalpa cordifolia Moench -
Catalpa denticulata Urb. -
Catalpa domingensis Urb. -
Catalpa duclouxii Dode -
Catalpa ekmaniana Urb. -
Catalpa fargesii Bur. -
Catalpa henryi Dode -
Catalpa heterophylla Dode -
Catalpa himalayensis Hort. ex Dippel -
Catalpa hirsuta Spreng. -
Catalpa kaempferi Siebold & Zucc. -
Catalpa longisiliqua Cham. -
Catalpa longissima (Jacq.) Dum.Cours. - Haitian catalpa
Catalpa macrocarpa Ekman -
Catalpa microphylla Spreng. -
Catalpa nana Hort. ex Dippel -
Catalpa oblongata Urb. & Ekman -
Catalpa obovata Urb. -
Catalpa ovata
Catalpa ovata
Catalpa ovata, the yellow catalpa or Chinese catalpa , is a pod-bearing tree native to China. Compared to C. speciosa, it is much smaller, typically reaching heights between 20 and 30 feet. The inflorescences form bunches of creamy white flowers with distinctly yellow tinging; individual flowers...
G.Don - yellow catalpa
Catalpa pottsii Seem. -
Catalpa pubescens (Griseb.) Bisse -
Catalpa pumila Hort. ex Wien. -
Catalpa punctata Griseb. -
Catalpa purpurea Griseb. -
Catalpa silvestrii (Pamp. & Bonati) S.Y.Hu -
Catalpa speciosa Warder ex Engelm. - northern catalpa
Catalpa sutchuensis Dode -
Catalpa ternifolia Cav. -
Catalpa thunbergii Hort. ex Wien. -
Catalpa tibetica Forrest -
Catalpa umbraculifera Hort. -
Catalpa vestita Diels -
Catalpa wallichiana Hort. ex Wien. -
- List sources