Catalpa’s reproduction and Mating Rituals/ Litter Size:

In the Catalpa tree there are fruits. The fruit is shaped like a bean and inside these beans are flat looking seeds which have two wings.[i] These wings help the tree to reproduce once the fruit falls to the ground and the outer layer of the bean decomposes, the wind picks up the seed because of the two wings and carries it. Once this seed landed, rain and water would push the seed down the soil and the seed would be planted in the soil by nature. This process is known as Dispersal[ii] However, not all the seed would be planted successfully this is why there are many fruits on the Catalpa tree to make the success rate of reproducing one tree more successful.[iii]

The Family of the Catalpa tree is Bisexual (oppositely paired). Therefore, the Catalpa tree contains compound leaves that have funnel or bell shaped bisexual flowers. In addition, it has five lobbed-calyx and corolla with two long and two short stamens arising from the corolla tube.[iv] It has a pistil positioned above the attached point of the other flower, which consisted of two fused ovule bearing carpel, which have two champers that holds many ovules which are attached along the central axis. As discussed earlier these seeds are winged for better opportunity to reproduce at a farther distance from the original plant, to avoid that seed becoming a competition with the original plant[v] These seeds contain lignin which is a substance which requires a huge amount of energy for it to decompose. This means that the seed needs a long time for the decomposers to break down lignin. As a result, it will take lignin a long time to decompose. This gives the seeds a better chance to grow into a tree before the seed decomposes.[vi]

This tree especially in the North, litters a lot because there leaves are very big and lobbed. During the winter time these Catalpa trees can litter everywhere because once the first frost occurs, the leaves of these tree falls instantly and litter everywhere on the ground video in  (see You tube video in  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFCZZAgFEwA website). However, the decomposers and insects feed on these leaves that fall to the ground therefore, during the winter the leaves slowly decompose into humus.[vii]

[i] Stephenson A G. 1980. Fruit set herbivores, fruit reduction and the fruit strategies of Catalpa Speciosa [Internet] [cited 2008 October 28] 61(1): 57-64. Available from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1937155.pdf13.Catalpa Spp. [Internet] [Cited 2008 October 25]. Available from http://www.windsorplywood.com/nam_hardwoods/catalpa.html.

[ii] Vines R. A. 2004. Trees, shrubs and woody vines of the southwest. Austin: University of Texas Press. P. 926-927.

[iii] Waldbauer G. 2003. What good are bugs?: Insects in the web of life. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 82 – 86.

[iv] ______Nature`s Hill Nursey. 2008. Southern Catalpa [Înternet] [Cited 2008, October 23, 2008] Available from. http://www.naturehills.com/product/southern_catalpa.aspx.

[v] ________. Nature`s Hill Nursey. 2008. Southern Catalpa [Înternet] [Cited 2008, October 23, 2008] Available from. http://www.naturehills.com/product/southern_catalpa.aspx.

[vi] ______. Nature`s Hill Nursey. 2008. Southern Catalpa [Înternet] [Cited 2008, October 23, 2008] Available from. http://www.naturehills.com/product/southern_catalpa.aspx.

[vii] Vines R. A. 2004. Trees, shrubs and woody vines of the southwest. Austin: University of Texas Press. P. 926-927.