Catalpa ( Catalpa spp . ) is a genus of flowering plants in the house Bignoniaceae , native to warm temperate and subtropical region of North America , the Caribbean , and East Asia .
Also known as southern catalpa , stout catalpa , western catalpa , northern catalpa , catawba , cigar tree and caterpillar tree , it is native to a wide - ranging area include North America , the Caribbean and East Asia . It ’s been cultivated throughout the US since the early 1800s .
Catalpa tree diagram have big , heart - mold leave that can be up to 12 inches long . They are fix up in a whorled or opposite pattern on the branches . In tardy fountain to former summer , Catalpa tree diagram produce turgid , showy , bell - shaped flowers . These flowers are often white with lily-livered stripes and purple or browned spots deep down , group in large clusters or panicles .
After florescence , Catalpas recrudesce long , slim semen pods often referred to as “ cigar ” or “ bean ” pod due to their shape . These pods can develop from 8 to 20 inches long , hold numerous two-dimensional seeds with winged ends . The bark is slightly rough , with a grain that can become more ridged or scaly as the tree diagram ages .
Catalpa trees can rise quite prominent , reaching 40 - 60 pes in height with a spread almost as wide , though some specie might remain modest . Under optimum conditions , they can grow 1 to 2 feet per year or even more when young . In some typeface , specially during their first few years , growth might exceed this pace if the conditions are idealistic ( rich soil , adequate wet , and full sun ) .
Catalpa trees make maturity comparatively cursorily for a tree diagram , often beginning to flower and raise seed pods within 6 to 12 years after implant , calculate on how they are grown ( from seed or grafted saplings ) . On average , a Catalpa tree might live for 50 to 150 years .
right caution , including watering , pruning , and protection from mechanically skillful damage , can widen their life . Urban weather condition , like defilement or restricted root infinite , might castrate their life . While Indian bean are relatively resistant to many disease , they can be affected by issues like verticillium wilt , and plague like the Catalpa sphinx moth larvae can defoliate trees , potentially touch on health if infestations are stark or perennial .
Though its inclination to spring up in odd office and farm rather quickly has earned it a repute of being a bit of a “ weed tree diagram , ” heap of folks love having this large graceful shade Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree on their properties . They became popular at the crook of the C in the Northeast US and one often sees streets or cul - de - sacs named some magnetic declination “ Catalpa Terrace ” or “ Catalpa Circle . ”
Species
There are two main species of catalpa tree grown in North America , the northerly catalpa and southern catalpa , both of which are clean similar . The Formosan catalpa is a somewhat different coinage with yellow flower , also get it on as jaundiced catalpa . All three are unremarkably planted outside their aboriginal areas as ornamental landscape trees .
