Catalpa

LEAVES: Opposite or whorled, simple, heart-shaped, 6″-10″ long and 6″ wide; margin entire or wavy; smooth above, hairy beneath.

TWIGS: Stout, yellow-brown; no buds at the ends. Side buds small, appear to be hidden in bark. Large, nearly round, depressed leaf scars are characteristic.

FRUIT: Bean-like, to 15″ long, ½” wide, halves separating when ripe, may persist on tips of branches all winter, many seeds, each with long white hairs on both ends.

Flowers in July, arranged in terminal clusters about 10″ long; each showy flower white with yellow and purple spots, 2″ in diameter.

BARK: Light brown, shallowly ridged and scaly.

GENERAL: A short-trunked, broad-crowned tree, to 49′, native to southern states, but now widely planted and frequently escaped in the eastern U.S. Usually planted for its shade and flowers, the wood is durable and useful for posts. The Northern catalpa, C. speciosa Warder, with larger flowers and wider pods, has also been planted in the Commonwealth.