Our new book Edible Shrubs is now available.

Edible Shrubs provides detailed information, attractively presented, on over 70 shrub species. They have been selected to provide a mix of different plant sizes and growing conditions. Most provide delicious and nutritious fruit, but many also have edible leaves, seeds, flowers, stems or roots, or they yield edible or useful oil.

Read More

Edible Shrubs Book
Follow Us:

 

Catalpa speciosa - (Warder. ex Barney.)Warder. ex Engelm.

Common Name Shawnee Wood, Northern catalpa, Early Flowering Catalpa, Hardy Catalpa, Western Catalpa, Indian Ciga
Family Bignoniaceae
USDA hardiness 4-9
Known Hazards None known
Habitats Borders of streams and fertile, often inundated, bottomlands and woods[43, 82].
Range Central N. America - Indiana and Illinois to Tennessee and Arkansas.
Edibility Rating    (0 of 5)
Other Uses    (0 of 5)
Weed Potential No
Medicinal Rating    (0 of 5)
Care
Fully Hardy Moist Soil Full sun
Catalpa speciosa Shawnee Wood, Northern catalpa, Early Flowering Catalpa, Hardy Catalpa, Western Catalpa, Indian Ciga


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Gobeirne
Catalpa speciosa Shawnee Wood, Northern catalpa, Early Flowering Catalpa, Hardy Catalpa, Western Catalpa, Indian Ciga
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Carnildo

 

Translate this page:

Summary

Bloom Color: White. Main Bloom Time: Early summer, Late summer, Late spring, Mid summer. Form: Oval.


Physical Characteristics

 icon of manicon of lolypop
Catalpa speciosa is a deciduous Tree growing to 15 m (49ft) by 15 m (49ft) at a fast rate.
It is hardy to zone (UK) 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen in October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.

UK Hardiness Map US Hardiness Map

Synonyms

Habitats

Woodland Garden Canopy;

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.


None known

Other Uses

Wood

Wood - soft, not strong, light, coarse-grained, very durable in the soil[11, 61, 82, 171]. It weighs 26lb per cubic foot[235]. It is largely used for fence posts and rails, telegraph poles etc, it is also occasionally used for making furniture, the interior finish of buildings etc. A very valuable timber tree in N. America[1, 11, 61, 82, 171].

Cultivation details

Landscape Uses:Specimen, Street tree. Prefers a good moist loamy soil and a sunny position that is not exposed[1, 11]. Tolerates heavy clay soils. Very resistant to atmospheric pollution[188]. Plants are hardy to about -15°c, probably more in continental climates[200], they grow best in areas with hot summers[188]. Protect plants from late frosts when they are young[200]. A fast-growing tree in the wild, where it commences to flower when about 15 years old[229]. Flowering is cyclic, with large crops of seed being produced every 2 - 3 years[229]. The wood is weak which often results in branches breaking off in strong winds[229]. When damaged by herbivores, the leaves produce extrafloral nectar that attracts insects which deter the leaf-eating herbivores[274]. There are some named forms selected for their ornamental value[200]. Trees transplant easily[200]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200]. Special Features: North American native, Naturalizing, Blooms are very showy.

Temperature Converter

Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit:

Fahrenheit:

image

The PFAF Bookshop

Plants For A Future have a number of books available in paperback and digital form. Book titles include Edible Plants, Edible Perennials, Edible Trees, and Woodland Gardening. Our new book to be released soon is Edible Shrubs.

Shop Now

Propagation

Seed - best sown outdoors, or in a cold frame, as soon as it is ripe[200]. Stratify stored seed for 3 weeks at 1°c and sow in spring[200]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Softwood cuttings, 10cm long, in a frame. They should be taken in late spring to early summer before the leaves are fully developed[200]. Root cuttings in winter[200].

Other Names

If available other names are mentioned here

Found In

Countries where the plant has been found are listed here if the information is available

Weed Potential

Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section. Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status :

Related Plants
Latin NameCommon NameEdibility RatingMedicinal Rating
Catalpa bignonioidesIndian Bean Tree, Southern catalpa02
Catalpa bungei 02
Catalpa ovataChinese Catalpa11

 

Print Friendly and PDF

Expert comment

Author

(Warder. ex Barney.)Warder. ex Engelm.

Botanical References

1143200

Links / References

For a list of references used on this page please go here

Readers comment

cole   Mon Jul 14 2008

It tastes bad, hurts the throat, but it's fun to bit people with pods)))

QR Code

What's this?

This is a QR code (short for Quick Response) which gives fast-track access to our website pages. QR Codes are barcodes that can be read by mobile phone (smartphone) cameras. This QR Code is unique to this page. All plant pages have their own unique code. For more information about QR Codes click here.

1. Copy and print the QR code to a plant label, poster, book, website, magazines, newspaper etc and even t-shirts.

2. Smartphone users scan the QR Code which automatically takes them to the webpage the QR Code came from.

3. Smartphone users quickly have information on a plant directly for the pfaf.org website on their phone.

Add a comment

If you have important information about this plant that may help other users please add a comment or link below. Only comments or links that are felt to be directly relevant to a plant will be included. If you think a comment/link or information contained on this page is inaccurate or misleading we would welcome your feedback at admin@pfaf.org. If you have questions about a plant please use the Forum on this website as we do not have the resources to answer questions ourselves.

* Please note: the comments by website users are not necessarily those held by PFAF and may give misleading or inaccurate information.

To leave a comment please Register or login here All comments need to be approved so will not appear immediately.

Subject : Catalpa speciosa  
All the information contained in these pages is Copyright (C) Plants For A Future, 1996-2012.
Plants For A Future is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. Charity No. 1057719, Company No. 3204567,
Web Design & Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Some information cannot be used for commercial reasons or be modified (but some can). Please view the copyright link for more information.