Northern Catalpa
Encyclopedia
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
.
It is a medium-sized, deciduous
tree
growing to 15-30 meters tall and 12 meters wide. It has a trunk up to 1 m diameter, with brown to gray bark
maturing into hard plates or ridges. The leaves
are deciduous, opposite (or whorled), large, heart shaped, 20-30 cm long and 15-20 cm broad, pointed at the tip and softly hairy beneath. The flower
s are 3-6 cm across, trumpet shaped, white with yellow stripes and purple spots inside; they grow in panicle
s of 10-30. The catalpa tree is the last tree to grow leaves in the spring. The leaves generally do not color in autumn before falling, instead, they either fall abruptly after the first hard freeze, or turn a slightly yellow-brown before dropping off. The winter twigs of northern catalpa are like those of few other trees, having sunken leaf scars that resemble suction cups. Their whorled arrangement (three scars per node) around the twigs is another diagnostic.
The fruit
is a long, thin legume-like pod, 20-40 cm long and 10-12 mm diameter; it often stays attached to tree during winter (and can be mistaken for brown icicle
s). The pod contains numerous flat, light brown seeds with two papery wings.
It is closely related to southern catalpa
, and can be distinguished by the flowering panicles, which bear a smaller number of larger flowers, and the slightly broader seed pods.
The wood
is soft, like white pine, and light, weighing only 26 pounds per cubic foot when dry. It also does not rot easily; in earlier years it was used for fence posts and less than successfully as railroad ties. More modern uses that highlight the wood's beautiful grain include furniture, interior trim and cabinetry. Catalpa has one of the lowest shrinkage/expansion rates of any U.S. hardwood. Only northern white cedar and redwood have lower shrinkage/expansion rates, and not by much. The wood's unique properties make it excellent for carving and boatbuilding. Often regarded as a weed tree, its wood is underappreciated and underused. The tree's tendency to grow crooked does not help its reputation as a source of usable lumber.
Northern catalpa has been extensively cultivated in Ohio for over 200 years, and is now naturalized in urban and rural areas. Farmers introduced the rapidly growing northern catalpa to Ohio to produce large amounts of timber for fenceposts.
Three liabilities exist in urban areas where it is found as both a shade and an ornamental tree. Northern catalpa rains down fragments of its long fruits and fringed seeds from winter through spring, creating a cleanup chore. In addition, it often gets far too big for its allocated space in the landscape, and crowds out or casts too much shade on other desirable plants. Finally, its brittle wood, coupled with tree height, makes its branches at times subject to wind or ice damage.
, which can on occasion defoliate the tree.
is a species of Catalpa
Catalpa
Catalpa, commonly called catalpa or catawba, is a genus of flowering plants in the trumpet vine family, Bignoniaceae, native to warm temperate regions of North America, the Caribbean, and East Asia....
native to the midwestern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
It is a medium-sized, 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...
growing to 15-30 meters tall and 12 meters wide. It has a trunk up to 1 m diameter, with brown to gray bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
maturing into hard plates or ridges. The 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....
are deciduous, opposite (or whorled), large, heart shaped, 20-30 cm long and 15-20 cm broad, pointed at the tip and softly hairy beneath. The 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 are 3-6 cm across, trumpet shaped, white with yellow stripes and purple spots inside; they grow in 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 of 10-30. The catalpa tree is the last tree to grow leaves in the spring. The leaves generally do not color in autumn before falling, instead, they either fall abruptly after the first hard freeze, or turn a slightly yellow-brown before dropping off. The winter twigs of northern catalpa are like those of few other trees, having sunken leaf scars that resemble suction cups. Their whorled arrangement (three scars per node) around the twigs is another diagnostic.
The 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,...
is a long, thin legume-like pod, 20-40 cm long and 10-12 mm diameter; it often stays attached to tree during winter (and can be mistaken for brown icicle
Icicle
An icicle is a spike of ice formed when water dripping or falling from an object freezes. Typically, icicles will form when ice or snow is melted by either sunlight or some other heat source , and the resulting melted water runs off into an area where the ambient temperature is below the freezing...
s). The pod contains numerous flat, light brown seeds with two papery wings.
It is closely related to 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...
, and can be distinguished by the flowering panicles, which bear a smaller number of larger flowers, and the slightly broader seed pods.
Distribution
Catalpa speciosa was originally thought to be native only to a small area of the midwestern United States near the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. However in 1976, investigation of an archeological site of an island in West Virginia's portion of the Ohio River revealed Catalpa speciosa to be present on the island around the time period of 1500-1700 AD. This suggests that Catalpa speciosa may have experienced a decline in range before European settlement. Today, its range has widely expanded east of the Rocky Mountains outside of its restricted pre-settlement location, further obscuring the true native range.Cultivation and uses
It is widely planted as an ornamental tree. It prefers moist, high pH soil and full sun, but has been able to grow almost anywhere in North America.The wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
is soft, like white pine, and light, weighing only 26 pounds per cubic foot when dry. It also does not rot easily; in earlier years it was used for fence posts and less than successfully as railroad ties. More modern uses that highlight the wood's beautiful grain include furniture, interior trim and cabinetry. Catalpa has one of the lowest shrinkage/expansion rates of any U.S. hardwood. Only northern white cedar and redwood have lower shrinkage/expansion rates, and not by much. The wood's unique properties make it excellent for carving and boatbuilding. Often regarded as a weed tree, its wood is underappreciated and underused. The tree's tendency to grow crooked does not help its reputation as a source of usable lumber.
Northern catalpa has been extensively cultivated in Ohio for over 200 years, and is now naturalized in urban and rural areas. Farmers introduced the rapidly growing northern catalpa to Ohio to produce large amounts of timber for fenceposts.
Three liabilities exist in urban areas where it is found as both a shade and an ornamental tree. Northern catalpa rains down fragments of its long fruits and fringed seeds from winter through spring, creating a cleanup chore. In addition, it often gets far too big for its allocated space in the landscape, and crowds out or casts too much shade on other desirable plants. Finally, its brittle wood, coupled with tree height, makes its branches at times subject to wind or ice damage.
Diseases
Although northern catalpa can have several diseases and pests, most are usually minor and pose no serious threat. The exception is the caterpillar of Ceratomia catalpaeCeratomia 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...
, which can on occasion defoliate the tree.