Catalpa × erubescens 'Purpurea'
Common name:
Purple Catalpa
Pronunciation:
ka-TAL-pa e-ru-BES-enz
Family:
Bignoniaceae
Genus:
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Deciduous tree, to 50 ft (15 m) tall, equal spread. Leaves 25-40 cm, often with 3-shallow, tapered lobes, dark blackish purple when young, maturing to dark green. Flowers white, marked with yellow and purple, in upright clusters 30 cm tall. Fruit (pods) slender, 40 cm long.
- Sun and partial shade.
- Hardy to USDA Zone 5 C. × erubescens (Hybrid Catalpa) is a hybrid of C. bignoniodes × C. ovata, apparently it first originated in France in 1866, but the hybrid has occurred at other places and times. C. × e. ‘Purpurea’ is the most common hybrid cultivar, there is some controversy as to its origin, but it may have been introduced before 1886 by T. Meehan's nursery in Germantown, PA.
- Aurora, Oregon: Oregon State Univ., North Willamette Research and Extension Center
Click image to enlarge
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plant habit
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expanding leaves, July
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leaves, August
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plant habit, flowering
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plant habit and leaves, fruiting
