Description
Catalpa (scientific name: Catalpa bungei C. A. Mey.) Small tree of Bignoniaceae, 8-12 meters high. The leaves are triangular-ovate or ovate-oblong, up to 8 cm wide, and the tip is long and acuminate, the base is truncated, broadly wedge-shaped or heart-shaped, the leaf surface is dark green, and the back is glabrous; the petiole is 2-8 cm long. The terminal umbrella-shaped raceme with 2-12 flowers. The calyx buds are spherical and have sharp teeth on the top. The corolla is light red, with 2 yellow stripes and dark purple spots on the inner surface. Capsules are linear. The seeds are elongated and oval, about 1 cm long and 2 cm wide, with hairs growing on both ends. Flowering from May to June, fruiting from June to October.
Produced in Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Hunan. Cultivated in Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan. This species likes fertile soil, grows quickly, the trunk is straight, and the wood is hard. It is a good building material and can be cultivated as an ornamental tree and a street tree, and it can be reproduced with root tillers. The flowers can be fried and the leaves can be fed to pigs. The stem bark, leaves and seeds are used as medicine, the fruit tastes bitter and cool, clears heat and diuresis, mainly treats urinary tract stones, urinary tract infections, and heat-toxic sores. It should not be used by pregnant women.
