Catalpas
For Throwback Thursday, here's a tree that is both easy and difficult to identify, a catalpa tree . The large leaves and fruit that resembles an unusually long string bean make catalpas pretty distinctive. On the other hand, it's pretty difficult to distinguish the Northern Catalpa and the Southern Catalpa , where the Northern has larger flowers but fewer of them and has a slightly broader seed pod [1] [2]. The catalpas aren't native to NJ, with the Northern Catalpa originating around the Arkansas/Missouri/Illinois shores of the Mississippi, and with the Southern Catalpa coming from central Alabama/Mississippi. They are a host plant for the Catalpa Sphinx moth; as caterpillars they can defoliate a catalpa tree (though the leaves usually regrow). Although there are catalpa trees around here, I don't know if we've got enough of them to support much of a population of these moths [3]. Despite reminding us of string beans, are (unlike some trees ) not legumes. (If you...