Catalpa speciosa

The northern catalpa is a medium-sized to large, deciduous tree with a short, thick trunk and a rounded to pyramidal crown. It is native to the eastern and central US, including North Carolina. It is a member of the trumpetvine family (Bignoniaceae). The name Catalpa is derived from the Muscogee name for the tree, "kutuhlpa," and the species epithet, speciosa, means “showy.”  

The northern catalpa prefers full sun or part shade. It is tolerant of most soil conditions, but it prefers a moist loam with plenty of organic material. 

This tree has a rounded crown with spreading branches, coarse leaves, and brittle wood. The foliage is noted to be very large. These leaves turn yellow in the fall and then eventually turn black. Northern catalpa has showy white flowers that have bright yellow and purple patterns on the inside of the flower. They flower in late spring to early summer and produce long, showy, green seed pods.  This plant is hardier than the southern catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides) and blooms earlier. The northern catalpa is a natural host to two native moths, the catalpa sphinx (Ceratomia catalpae) and the tersa sphinx (Xylophanes tersa), which are important food sources for birds and bats. 

The two US species can be distinguished as follows:

• C. bignonioides: Foliage with a fetid odor; lower corolla lobe entire; densely spotted with purple; seed wings rounded like a pointed paintbrush. 
• C. speciosa: Foliage with “green” odor; lower corolla lobe cleft; sparsely spotted with purple; seed wings flattened.

It does well in difficult locations of the landscape, such as moist low spots or dry spots with poor soils. This species can be grown in a variety of landscape themes, including children’s gardens, rain gardens, native gardens and butterfly gardens.

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: This species does not have a serious problem with diseases or insects, however, it could be susceptible to verticillium wilt, leaf spot, mildew, and twig blight. The larvae of the catalpa sphinx moth also feed on the foliage, which can result in considerable damage, albeit temporary and non-lethal.

VIDEO created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee.