Catalpa

  • Authority

    Gentry, Alwyn H. 1992. Bignoniaceae--part II (Tribe Tecomeae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 25: 1-370. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Bignoniaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Catalpa

  • Type

    Type. Bignonia catalpa Linnaeus (=C. bignonioides Walter).

  • Synonyms

    Cumbalu Adans., Catalpium amena Raf., Macrocatalpa

  • Description

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    Genus Description - Trees. Leaves simple, opposite or verticillate. Inflorescence paniculate. Flowers white to pink or light yellow, the calyx membranaceous, bilabiately split to near base; corolla broadly campanulate, strongly bilabiate with 3 lower lobes longer than upper two; fertile stamens two, with three minute staminodes also present; ovary oblong, bilocular, the ovules multiseriate in each locule; disk small, annular-pulvinate. Fruit a terete capsule, the seed wings formed by separate or basally partially fused hairs, the body sometimes also dorsally plumose.

  • Discussion

    In addition to the native species, three extratropical species are sometimes cultivated in subtropical South America. All three are readily distinguishable from the native species by the much broader heart-shaped leaves and by the seeds plumose only at the ends. Catalpa speciosa (Warder et Barney) Engelm. and C. bignonioides Walt., both temperate North American, can be differentiated by the former’s larger flowers (>4 cm long vs. <3.5 cm long) with a notched lower petal and wider fruit (>1 cm diam. vs. usually <1 cm diam.) having broader seeds with the apical hairs not coming together in a point. Catalpa speciosa is usually a large tree with ridged bark, C. bignonioides a small tree with scaly bark. Asian C. ovata G. Don differs from the two North American species in glabrous or glabrate lower leaf surfaces, the tendency to sharply lobed or angled margins, and the smaller yellowish flowers (<2 cm across) and narrower fruits (5-8 cm diam.). Catalpa x erubescens, a hybrid between C. ovata and C. bignonioides is cultivated in Argentina; it is intermediate between its two parents with glabrous or slightly puberulous leaves, corollas 2.5-3 cm long and ca. 2 cm across, and fruits 7-8 mm wide.

  • Distribution

    A genus of 10 species, four in Asia, two in the southeastern United States, and four in the Antilles.

    Asia| United States of America North America| West Indies|