Northern Catalpa
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| iCatalpa speciosa | ||||||||||||||
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| Catalpa speciosa (Warder) Warder ex Engelm. |
Northern Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa) is a species of Catalpa, native to the midwestern United States in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 15-20 meters tall, with a trunk up to 1 m diameter with brown to gray bark, maturing into hard plates or ridges. The leaves are large, heart shaped, 20-30 cm long and 15-20 cm broad. The flowers are 3-6 cm across, trumpet shaped, white with yellow stripes and purple spots inside; they grow in panicles of 10-30.
The fruit is a long, thin bean 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 icicles). 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.
[edit] Cultivation and uses
It is widely grown as an ornamental tree. It prefers moist soil and full sun but has been able to grow almost anywhere in North America, and has become widely naturalized east of the Rocky Mountains outside of its restricted native range.
The wood is brittle and hard, but does not rot easily; it is used for fence posts and railroad ties.
 Flowers, leaf and bark |
 Closeup of a leaf |
 Beanpods and leave details of the Northern Catalpa |
[edit] References
