Catalpa bignonioides

Southern catalpa

Habitus (CC BY-SA 3.0) Jean-Pol GRANDMONT

Short Description

The cigartree is up to 20 m tall and deciduous.

The leaf is heart-shaped and very large with a smooth, wavy leaf margin. The underside of the leaf is softly hairy.

The trunk is short and thick with a broad, spreading, irregular crown. The bark is light brown, thin and longitudinally cracked.

The flowers are white and bell-shaped. There are yellow and purple flower stigmas in the flower throat. They are numerous in many-flowered clusters.

The fruits are very long and narrow capsules. They contain numerous flattened seeds.

Features

Southern catalpa

Catalpa bignonioides
  • large, bell-shaped flowers

  • very narrow and long fruits

Blütenstand (CC BY-SA 3.0) Le.Loup.Gris

In the city

It was introduced to Europe in the 18th century as an ornamental tree and is often found in parks and gardens. It prefers sunny and nutrient-rich sites with sandy soils.

Fun Facts

  • It flowers from June to July.

  • The flowers attract numerous insects, especially bees.

  • Endangerment level Germany: not evaluated
  • It belongs to the non-native plants (neophytes).

  • The whole plant is slightly poisonous.

Blatt (CC BY-SA 3.0) Dalgial

Sources

Habitus, Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catalpa_bignonioides_JPG5Aa.jpg

Blütenstand, Le.Loup.Gris, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catalpa_bignonioides_inflorescence.jpg

Blatt, Dalgial, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catalpa_bignonioides%27s_leaf_in_Korea.JPG

Page „Gewöhnlicher Trompetenbaum“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 06.12.2016, 16:56 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gew%C3%B6hnlicher_Trompetenbaum&oldid=160401942 (Accessed: 02.05.2017).