Scientific Name
Catalpa speciosa
This tree is native to a small area where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers meet, but it has proven adaptable to a much larger range of climates. A large tree with big, smooth-edged, heart-shaped leaves and a tropical appearance, it has been planted widely as an exotic ornamental and was once a promising timber producer. Catalpa tolerates very hot, dry conditions, and many can be found in Denver, though it is planted less frequently today.
Catalpas usually grow to about 50 feet tall here, with Colorado champions reaching around 60 feet. Although the tree is quite late to leaf out in the spring and offers little or no fall color, it puts on a spectacular display in early summer. At that time, it produces masses of upright, bell-shaped white flowers marked with yellow and purple streaks.
Catalpa’s other noteworthy characteristic is its fruits: long, hanging capsules that begin green and turn brown over the course of the growing season. These are often compared to cigars or beans. They eventually split open irregularly, releasing multitudes of small, dry, winged seeds to be carried away by the wind. This type of fruit shows that the tree is not a member of the pea family. Instead, it belongs to the trumpet vine family, which includes the orange-flowered trumpet vines (Campsis radicans) that grow profusely on the eastern side of the Regis Residence Village. Another identifying feature of the catalpa tree is its stout twigs, which have sunken leaf scars arranged in whorls of three.