Plant Family: Bignoniaceae
Growth Form: Medium sized tree, 12 to 20 meters tall.
Leaves: Opposite (or in whorls of 3), simple, heart-shaped, with a long tapering apex, large, from 15 to 30 cm long; crushed leaves lack an unpleasant odor.
Bark: Gray, with prominent ridges.
Flowers: Large, white, tubular, with orange and purple markings; held in showy clusters at the branch ends, May to June.
Fruits: Long, narrow, green, bean-like pods, greater than 1 cm in diameter, that ripen to brown in the fall and stay on the tree through the winter, releasing small winged seeds.
Habitat: Prefers rich, moist soils of bottomlands, but is hardy and adaptable to other soil types.
Range: Native to the Mississippi valley of the Midwest; widely planted for its attractive flowers and foliage; naturalized over much of the eastern U.S.
Similar Species: Southern Catalpa (C. bignonioides), also planted as an ornamental, has leaves with shorter tips, the leaves emit an unpleasant odor when crushed, and fruit pods are less than 1 cm in diameter.
Comments: The caterpillar of the Catalpa Moth (Ceratomia catalpae), that feeds on the tree, is prized by fishermen as an excellent live bait.
