Editing Catalpa (section)

== 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dong |first1=Wenpan |last2=Liu |first2=Yanlei |last3=Li |first3=Enze |last4=Xu |first4=Chao |last5=Sun |first5=Jiahui |last6=Li |first6=Wenying |last7=Zhou |first7=Shiliang |last8=Zhang |first8=Zhixiang |last9=Suo |first9=Zhili |date=January 2022 |title=Phylogenomics and biogeography of Catalpa (Bignoniaceae) reveal incomplete lineage sorting and three dispersal events |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1055790321002633 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |language=en |volume=166 |pages=107330 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107330|pmid=34687844 |bibcode=2022MolPE.16607330D }}</ref>