Catalpa, Southern
Catalpa bignonioides
Bignoniaceae - Catalpa

Description

Leaves: Medium or dark green and hairless above, paler green and somewhat hairy below; 4" to 8" in length and 3" to 8" in width; simple; whorled or opposite; apex steeply tapering (short pointed), base square or heart-shaped; rarely lobed; strong odor when crushed; long petiole (4" to 6"); deciduous.

Twigs/buds: Twigs green and later reddish to grayish brown, sunken leaf scars with whorled nodes in winter. Buds reddish brown, small; no terminal bud; scales overlapping.

Flowers/fruit: Flowers perfect; white with yellow-orange stripes and scattered purple spots (more purple spots than C. speciosa); 1-1/2" to 2" across (smaller than C. speciosa), 5-petaled; in many-flowered panicles, 8" to 10" long; similar to C. speciosa, but blooms a couple of weeks later in May or June. Fruit is winged seeds in green capsules or pods; capsules cigar-like, slender (1/4" to 1/3" in diameter), 6" to 24" long; occur in clusters, 1-5 in number; seed ends tufted; seed dispersal occurs in the fall as capsules turn brown and crack open; remain on tree during winter; thinner walls than C. speciosa.

Bark: Red-brown scales; fissured; thin and easily damaged when young.

Wood: Unimportant; weak; moderately resistant to heartwood decay.

General: Native to wet soils in southeastern U.S., from Florida and Georgia to Louisiana; it is uncommon. Widely naturalized elsewhere (e.g., New York) on sites such as roadsides and waste areas. Mature height from 25' to 50'. Canopy wide-spreading, irregular, and broadly rounded. Does well in open areas with full sun. Not as cold tolerant as C. speciosa. Weak wood.

Landscape Use: Occasionally planted in Utah. Similar to C. speciosa, but with a smaller Canopy size and smaller leaves, flowers, and fruit. Fruit can be a nuisance. Zones 5-9.

Cultivars: ' Aurea', 'Nana'.

Characteristics

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