Editing Catalpa

{{Short description|Genus of plants}}
{{Other uses|Catalpa (disambiguation)}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| oldest_fossil = Early Oligocene
| image = Cataspec.jpg
| image_caption = ''Catalpa speciosa'' flowers, leaf and bark
| taxon = Catalpa
| authority = [[Giovanni Antonio Scopoli|Scopoli]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = [[#Selected species|See text]]|
}}
[[Image:Northern Catalpa beanpods.jpg|thumb|"Beanpods" and leaf details of the northern catalpa]]
'''''Catalpa''''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ə|-|'|t|æ|l|-|p|ə|}}, {{IPAc-en|k|ə|-|'|t|ɑː|l|-|p|ə|}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of CATALPA |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catalpa |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref>), commonly also called '''catawba''', is a [[genus]] of [[flowering plant]]s in the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Bignoniaceae]], [[native plant|native]] to warm [[temperateness|temperate]] and [[subtropical]] regions of North America, the Caribbean, and East Asia.

==Description==
Most ''Catalpa'' are [[deciduous]] trees; they typically grow to {{convert|12|-|18|m|ft|-1}} tall, with branches spreading to a diameter of about {{convert|6|-|12|m|ft|-1}}.  They are fast growers and a 10-year-old sapling may stand about {{convert|6|m|ft}} tall. They have characteristic large, heart-shaped leaves, which in some species are three-lobed. The appearance of the leaves sometimes causes confusion with species such as the unrelated tung tree (''[[Vernicia fordii]]'') and ''[[Paulownia tomentosa]]''. ''Catalpa'' species bear broad [[panicle]]s of showy flowers, generally in summer. The flower colour generally is white to yellow. In late summer or autumn the fruit appear; they are [[silique]]s about {{convert|20|-|50|cm|in|0}} long, full of small flat seeds, each with two thin wings to aid in wind dispersal.

The large leaves and dense foliage of ''Catalpa'' species provide good shelter from rain and wind, making the trees an attractive habitat for many species of birds. They do not present many threats of falling limbs, but the dark-brown fruit husks that they drop in late summer may be a nuisance.

Though ''Catalpa'' wood is quite soft, it is popular for turning and for furniture when well seasoned, being attractive, stable and easy to work.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www-pub.naz.edu:9000/~treewalk/catalpa/catalpa.htm |first=Kristi |last=Maroni |author2=Sarah Domville |title=Catalpa Tree |work=Tree Walk |publisher=[[Nazareth College (New York)|Nazareth College of Rochester]] |date=2003-12-04 |access-date=2009-04-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210151800/http://www-pub.naz.edu:9000/~treewalk/catalpa/catalpa.htm |archive-date=2008-12-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Most catalpas begin flowering after roughly three years, and produce fruit after about five years.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

==Species==

The two North American species, ''[[Catalpa bignonioides]]'' (southern catalpa) and ''[[Catalpa speciosa]]'' (northern catalpa), have been widely planted outside their natural ranges as [[ornamental plant|ornamental trees]] for their showy flowers and attractive shape. Northern and southern catalpas are very similar in appearance, but the northern species has slightly larger leaves, flowers, and bean pods. Flowering starts after 275 [[growing degree day]]s. ''[[Catalpa ovata]]'' from China, with pale yellow flowers, is also planted outside its natural range for ornamental purposes. This allowed ''C. bignonioides'' and ''C. ovata'' to hybridize, with the resultant ''[[Catalpa × erubescens]]'' also becoming a cultivated ornamental.

=== List of species ===
'''Sources:''' (GRIN accepts 8 species)<ref name=grin>{{cite web |url=https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomybrowse |title='''Species Records of ''Catalpa''''' |department=[[Agricultural Research Service]] (ARS), [[National Genetic Resources Program]], [[Germplasm Resources Information Network]] (GRIN) |publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture|USDA]] |access-date=12 April 2021 }}</ref> (KEW accepts 8 species)<ref>{{cite web |title=Catalpa Scop. {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30022327-2 |website=Plants of the World Online |access-date=12 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
* Section ''Catalpa'' (North America and East Asia):
** ''[[Catalpa bignonioides]]'' {{small|Walter}} – southern catalpa
** ''[[Catalpa bungei]]'' {{small|C.A.Mey.}} – Manchurian catalpa
** ''[[Catalpa fargesii]]'' {{small|Bureau}} (sometimes treated as a synonym of ''C. bungei'')
** ''[[Catalpa ovata]]'' {{small|G.Don}} – Chinese catalpa, yellow catalpa
** ''[[Catalpa speciosa]]'' {{small|Warder ex Engelm.}} – northern catalpa
* Section ''Macrocatalpa'' (Caribbean):
** ''[[Catalpa brevipes]]'' {{small|Urb.}}
** ''[[Catalpa purpurea]]'' <small>Griseb</small>
** ''[[Catalpa macrocarpa]]'' <small>Ekman</small>
** ''[[Catalpa longissima]]'' <small>(Jacq.) Dum.Cours</small>

== 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>

==Etymology==
The name derives from the [[Muscogee]] name for the tree, "kutuhlpa" meaning "winged head" and is unrelated to the name of the [[Catawba people]].<ref>[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/g/gandf/AJQ0745.0009.436/4?rgn=full+text;view=image Gerard, William R. Plant names of Indian origin_II. Garden and Forest. volume 9, no. 436. page 262. (1896).]</ref><ref>Cassidy, Fred. Lemmatization—The case of "Catalpa". in McIntosh, Language Form and Linguistic Variation: Papers Dedicated to Angus McIntosh. Amsterdam : Benjamins, 1982. Current issues in linguistic theory, 15.</ref> The spellings "Catalpa" and "Catalpah" were used by [[Mark Catesby]] between 1729 and 1732, and [[Carl Linnaeus]] published the tree's name as ''Bignonia catalpa'' in 1753.<ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/126524#page/216/mode/1up Catesby, Mark.The natural history of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. volume 1. page and plate 49.] </ref><ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358643#page/64/mode/1up Linne, Carolus von Linne. Species Plantarum. 1st edition. 1753. volume 2. page 622]</ref> [[Giovanni Antonio Scopoli]] established the genus ''Catalpa'' in 1777.

The bean-like seed pod is the origin of the alternative vernacular names '''Indian bean tree''' and '''cigar tree''' for ''[[Catalpa bignonioides]]'' and ''[[Catalpa speciosa]]'', respectively.

[[Image:Catalpa Reading.JPG|left|thumb|The catalpa tree in Reading, Berkshire, England]]

==Food source==
The tree is the sole source of food for the catalpa sphinx moth (''[[Ceratomia catalpae]]''), the leaves being eaten by the [[caterpillar]]s. When caterpillars are numerous, infested trees may be completely defoliated.   Defoliated catalpas produce new leaves readily, but with multiple generations occurring, new foliage may be consumed by subsequent broods. Severe defoliation over several consecutive years can cause death of trees. Because the caterpillars are an excellent live bait for fishing, some dedicated anglers plant catalpa mini-orchards for their own private source of "[[Ceratomia catalpae|catawba-worms]]", particularly in the [[Southern United States|southern states]].<ref>[http://www.ag.auburn.edu/enpl/bulletins/catalpasphinx/catalpasphinx.htm Hyche, L. L., "The Catalpa Sphinx" Department of Entomology Auburn University, Retrieved on 2009, 05-16.]
</ref>

[[File:2014-10-30 09 49 25 Catalpa foliage during autumn along Terrace Boulevard in Ewing, New Jersey.JPG|thumb|Autumn foliage]]

==Other uses==
Catalpa is also occasionally used as a [[tonewood]] in guitars.
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== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Catalpa}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120502143420/http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/casp8.htm ''Catalpa speciosa'' images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q158072}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Dehiscence (botany)]]

[[Category:Catalpa| ]]
[[Category:Bignoniaceae genera]]