Catalpa (,
Description
Most
Catalpa are
deciduous trees; they typically grow to tall, with branches spreading to a diameter of about . They are fast growers and a 10-year-old sapling may stand about tall. They have characteristic large, heart-shaped leaves, which in some species are three-lobed. The appearance of the leaves sometimes causes confusion with species such as the unrelated tung tree (
Vernicia fordii) and
Paulownia tomentosa.
Catalpa species bear broad
of showy flowers, generally in summer. The flower colour generally is white to yellow. In late summer or autumn the fruit appear; they are
about long, full of small flat seeds, each with two thin wings to aid in wind dispersal.
The large leaves and dense foliage of Catalpa species provide good shelter from rain and wind, making the trees an attractive habitat for many species of birds. They do not present many threats of falling limbs, but the dark-brown fruit husks that they drop in late summer may be a nuisance.
Though Catalpa wood is quite soft, it is popular for turning and for furniture when well seasoned, being attractive, stable and easy to work.
Most catalpas begin flowering after roughly three years, and produce fruit after about five years.
Species
The two North American species,
Catalpa bignonioides (southern catalpa) and
Catalpa speciosa (northern catalpa), have been widely planted outside their natural ranges as
ornamental plant for their showy flowers and attractive shape. 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 days.
Catalpa ovata from China, with pale yellow flowers, is also planted outside its natural range for ornamental purposes. This allowed
C. bignonioides and
C. ovata to hybridize, with the resultant
Catalpa × erubescens also becoming a cultivated ornamental.
List of species
Sources: (GRIN accepts 8 species)
(KEW accepts 8 species)
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Section Catalpa (North America and East Asia):
-
Section Macrocatalpa (Caribbean):
Evolution
The genus likely originated in North America, with the oldest fossils of the genus being seeds from the Early
Oligocene (
Rupelian) of
Oregon, USA. Fossil species are also known from the Late Oligocene (
Chattian) of Europe, but they appear to have become extinct in the region by the
Miocene epoch. The fossil species
Catalpa hispaniolae known from
Dominican amber indicates the presence of the genus in the Caribbean by the Miocene. Fossil leaves from China indicate their presence in East Asia by the mid Miocene. The living North American species
C. bignonioides and
C. speciosa seem to have originated from a back-migration to North America from East Asia, probably during the late Miocene.
Etymology
The name derives from the
Muscogee name for the tree, "kutuhlpa" meaning "winged head" and is unrelated to the name of the
Catawba people.
[ Gerard, William R. Plant names of Indian origin_II. Garden and Forest. volume 9, no. 436. page 262. (1896).][Cassidy, Fred. Lemmatization—The case of "Catalpa". in McIntosh, Language Form and Linguistic Variation: Papers Dedicated to Angus McIntosh. Amsterdam : Benjamins, 1982. Current issues in linguistic theory, 15.] The spellings "Catalpa" and "Catalpah" were used by
Mark Catesby between 1729 and 1732, and
Carl Linnaeus published the tree's name as
Bignonia catalpa in 1753.
[ Catesby, Mark.The natural history of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. volume 1. page and plate 49. ][ Linne, Carolus von Linne. Species Plantarum. 1st edition. 1753. volume 2. page 622] Giovanni Antonio Scopoli established the genus
Catalpa in 1777.
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.
Food source
The tree is the sole source of food for the catalpa sphinx moth (
Ceratomia catalpae), the leaves being eaten by the
. 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.
[ Hyche, L. L., "The Catalpa Sphinx" Department of Entomology Auburn University, Retrieved on 2009, 05-16.
]
Other uses
Catalpa is also occasionally used as a
tonewood in guitars.
External links
