Introduction:

The name, Catalpa comes from an indigenous tribe name Catawba. It was named after the native tribe because near this tribe was where the Europeans first located the Catalpa tree.[i] However, there was a mistranslation of this word to English. As a result, this plant is called Catalpa.[ii] Catalpa is a Genus which contains mostly deciduous trees in the flowering plants family of Bignoniaceae. A Genus is the second lowest Taxonomic rank which is used in the classification of living and fossil organism (See Taxonomy). Genus is a group of species that would fall under the similar kind of traits and characteristics.[iii] Furthermore, in North America the Catalpa is often planted in yards for shade, due to their large lobed leaves. It is also commonly planted as street trees. However, these plants are becoming more common in the natural environment because of their ability to reproduce effectively.[iv]

Figure 2: Catalpa Speciosa

Retrieved: http://www.winona.edu/publications/treebook/768.htm

[i] Thone F. 1931. Nature Ramblings: Catalpa The Science News-Letter 19 (530): 366.

[ii] Thone F. 1931. Nature Ramblings: Catalpa The Science News-Letter 19 (530): 366.

[iii] United States Department of Agriculture: Natural Resources Conservation Service [Internet]. [updated 2008 October 11] United States: Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service; [cited 2008 October 26, 2008]. Available from http://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=profile&symbol=CATAL&display=31.

[iv] Thone F. 1931. Nature Ramblings: Catalpa The Science News-Letter 19 (530): 366.