OT What kind of tree is this

JOB

Member
I have this tree on my property and I do not know what kind it is. It is the only one I have seen. The leaf pictured is ten inches tall and eight and a half inches wide. The ten inches is from the tip to where the stem connects to the leaf. There are smaller leaves on this tree. In the early summer this tree has white flowers about three inches in diameter on it. The flowers stay on for about a month, I think. This tree is located about twenty miles south of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. Anyone have any ideas?

I have looked in a couple of tree books and can't find it. The tree had to come from somewhere. I have owned the property for over forty years, and don't feel the tree is forty years old. The tree is maybe thirty-five feet tall.
mvphoto278.jpg
 
I agree, a leaf that shape and size and white flowers, it has to be a catalpa. Unless you are lucky enough to have a special cultivar, the flowers should develop into long, bean-shaped pods that litter your lawn like nobody's business.
 
The leaf in the picture looks to be a Southern
Catalpa due to the pointed end on the leaf you
showed. AKA Eastern Catalpa, Eastern Catalpa,
Indian Bean, Indian Cigar tree. Leaves up to 8"
long and wide (Catalpa Bignonioides).

We've got a bunch of Northern Catalpas here in my
area of central NY. AKA Western Catalpa or Hardy
Catalpa. Leaves up to 12" long and 8" wide and
more of a blunt point at the end then in your
photo. Beans are 8" to 20" long (Catalpa
Speciosa).

If it's a Catalpa, the flowers look like small
orchids and it ought to have long beans hanging
off it in the fall (now). I just had this
discussion with a new guy from New York City that
bought and old farm here in central NY. He swore
it had no beans on it. I went over and looked at
it and it has hundreds of long beans hanging off
of it right now. Seems to be one of the few
tree species here that still has leaves and are
still green. Most everything else turned yellow
and fell off for fall.

We've got two Northern Catalpas here we started
from seed four years ago. 15 feet tall now and
flowered this year for the first time.
 
I have many Royal Empress trees. I think the leaf looks like that. Now that I think about it I am not sure.

That's a pretty small leaf for an Empress trees.
 
I googled Catalpa speciosa and what I saw is it is native to the southern states and sort of a tropical tree. I have never seen the long bean shaped pods in the tree or on the ground. The ground is covered with big leaves now.
 
I had a couple of catalpa trees in my yard at previous place that I lived. I'm not a big fan of them. Not really good for a shade tree, the bean pods litter the ground in the fall and there were a couple of years where they got attacked by army (I believe) worms and stripped the trees clean during the summer.
 
I had a friend who had a couple of large catalpas poached off of his property. Apparently the wood is used for something special in Japan.

Regards,

Cliff(VA)
 
They got attacked by catalpa worms. Great fish bait for bream and catfish. Here in the South the worms are sold for fish bait.
 




I googled Northern Catalpa And the description matched this tree except for the bean like pods. I will have to look closer for the pods. Says it grows in zones four through eight. I am in the coldest end of zone four.

This morning I went over and looked at the thee and now I see the bean pods. This tree has a few of them on it, not a lot as others have on their trees. Catalpa it is
mvphoto286.jpg
 

I did a closer look at the tree and Catalpa is what it is. Kind of wonder how I got one of them
 
We have one in the old back yard area of the old farm house that was here. I used to call it the bean tree, never knew the correct name. Funny seein this post, its the only one on this farm, the back yard used to have a variety of trees, mulberry bush, tree, some species of chestnut, the "Catalpa" or bean tree and hard Maple. The Catalpa seems to be quite old, the grain of the wood is interesting, it reminds me of Oak. This tree was damaged in a storm some years back, not too bad, but a sizeable limb that was sort of hanging, I did not cut off the whole thing, for whatever reason, sure is healthy, what grew back, totally hides what happened, I will have to save the wood off it to make something. Flowers are nice on it, nice aroma.
 
Catalpa (northern species) does well and transplants easily in Minnesota. I have several of them toward the back of my property, most started from seed. They do grow quickly but seem longer-lived than most fast-growing trees (e.g., poplar, willow). While some consider it a junk tree, I think the catalpa is beautiful -- exotic-looking foliage and attractive, fragrant white-yellow-purple blossoms in early to mid summer (had one still blooming in August this year); the flower shape reminds me of huge snapdragon blooms. The tree can branch off in all sorts of twists and turns and angles. The wood has a yellowish tinge and can be used to create unique "things," from knife handles to turned bowls to furniture. Yes, the seed pods can be a nuisance, the big leaves even more so, but they mulch easily and work well in an area where they're sort of out of the way and the debris doesn't matter. FWIW, it doesn't seem to lose branches in storms, and the deer don't seem to relish the bark (but rabbits will nip the lower branches when young). IMO, the catalpa is much less hassle than black walnuts! I think the unique tropical look of the tree is worth the small nuisance. Be aware the tree tends to be late to leaf out in the spring, far later than most species. Don't cut it down as dead unless you've given it a good chance to get its leaves. Often one part of the tree will get leaves and blossoms days or even weeks before other parts. All in all it's a neat tree if you can tolerate the leaves and pods.
 
The numbered, horticultural growth zones are defined by ranges of temperature but the natural distrabution of trees is limited by a number of other factors. In Boise, ID, in a high-desert climate, with winter temperatures below zero, we have persimmon, magnolia, tuliptree and catalpa, all transplanted here to people's yards and growing normally.
 
As others have said, it's a catalpa (spelling?) tree. I see some newer ones in landscapes around industrial buildings. If they have enough room they quickly grow tall and straight.

Dad's farm had a small grove of them. The previous owner had planted them for erosion control and was told they make good fence posts. That grove seemed to have been planted too closely together as many had curved and twisted trunks.
 
I plan on keeping this tree for awhile. It is growing on a high area that will one day be lowered. I will try and start a couple more of these trees else where on my property. I kind of like there flowery look and they are different. I have never seen another like it in the area. But the seed came from somewhere, most likely close.
 
I have one of those tree's that's planted in a barrier strip behind my neighbors home. It's been there over 45 years and no one knew what variety it was. I measured one of the leaf's that measures 10.5" X 10". Hal
 

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