''Catalpa ovata'', the yellow catalpa or Chinese catalpa (), is a pod-bearing tree native to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Compared to ''C. speciosa'', it is much smaller, typically reaching heights between . The inflorescences form bunches of creamy white flowers with distinctly yellow tinging; individual flowers are about wide. They bloom in July and August. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are very similar in shape to those of '' Paulownia tomentosa'', having three lobes (two are abruptly truncated on either edge, with a third, central, slightly acute, pointed lobe forming the leaf apex), and are darkly green. Fruits are very narrow, foot-long pods. Although native to the more temperate provinces within China ( Anhui,

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jilin,

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

Nei Monggol Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi,

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

, Sichuan, Xinjiang), ''C. ovata'' is also cultivated in North America and Europe, and has become a parent of '' Catalpa × erubescens'' with the American species '' Catalpa bignonioides''. It is commonly used to make the undersides of

qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

Gallery

File:Catalpa ovata tree 1.jpg, Tree in flower in cultivation at the

Birmingham Botanical Gardens (United Kingdom) The Birmingham Botanical Gardens are a botanical garden situated in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. The gardens are located south-west of Birmingham city centre at . Designed in 1829, the gardens are Grade II* listed in Historic Englands's R ...

File:Catalpa Ovata leaves and pods.jpg, Leaves and pods File:Catalpa ovata.jpg, Closeup of mature Catalpa ovata at sunset

Chemistry

The plant contains dehydro-alpha-lapachone (DAL) which inhibits vessel regeneration, interferes with vessel

anastomosis An anastomosis (, plural anastomoses) is a connection or opening between two things (especially cavities or passages) that are normally diverging or branching, such as between blood vessels, leaf#Veins, leaf veins, or streams. Such a connection m ...

, and limits plexus formation in zebrafish. DAL also controlled the development of the fungi rice blast, tomato late blight, wheat leaf rust,

barley powdery mildew Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pro ...

and red pepper anthracnose (''

Colletotrichum coccodes ''Colletotrichum coccodes'' is a plant pathogen, which causes anthracnose on tomato and black dot disease of potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. ...

'' (Wallr) S Hughes). The chemical was particularly effective in suppressing anthracnose.

Other

Referenced in the Zhuangzi.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1144805 ovata Trees of China Flora of Xinjiang Plants described in 1837 Garden plants of Asia Ornamental trees Endemic flora of China