Catalpa ovata

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Lamiales

Familia: Bignoniaceae
Tribus: Catalpeae
Genus: Catalpa
Sectio: C. sect. Catalpa
Species: Catalpa ovata
Name

Catalpa ovata G.Don, 1837
Synonyms

Heterotypic
Catalpa bignonioides var. kaempferi DC., Prodr. 9: 226 (1845).
Catalpa kaempferi (DC.) Siebold & Zucc., Abh. Math.-Phys. Cl. Königl. Bayer. Akad. Wiss. 4(3): 142 (1846).
Catalpa bungei Dippel, Handb. Laubholzk. 1: 49 (1889), nom. illeg.
Catalpa himalayaca Dippel, Handb. Laubholzk. 1: 50 (1889), nom. nud.
Catalpa himalayensis Dippel, Handb. Laubholzk. 1: 50 (1889), nom. nud.
Catalpa nana Dippel, Handb. Laubholzk. 1: 51 (1889), not validly publ.
Catalpa wallichiana Beck & Abel, Wiener Ill. Gart.-Zeitung 15: 318 (1890), not validly publ.
Catalpa henryi Dode, Bull. Soc. Dendrol. France 1907: 199 (1907).
Catalpa ovata var. flavescens Bean, Trees & Shrubs Brit. Isles 1: 313 (1914).
Catalpa ovata f. flavescens (Bean) Rehder, Bibl. Cult. Trees: 595 (1949).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Asie
Regional: China
China (Anhui, Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition

References

Don, G. (1837) A General History of the Dichlamydeous Plants... London 4:230.

Links

Hassler, M. 2019. Catalpa ovata. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2019. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Apr. 28. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Catalpa ovata in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Apr. 28. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Catalpa ovata. Published online. Accessed: Apr. 28 2019.
The Plant List 2013. Catalpa ovata in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Apr. 28.
Tropicos.org 2019. Catalpa ovata. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Apr. 28.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Catalpa ovata in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names
English: Chinese catalpa
中文: 梓树

Catalpa ovata, the yellow catalpa[1][5] or Chinese catalpa[1] (Chinese: 梓; pinyin: zǐ), is a pod-bearing tree native to China. Compared to C. speciosa, it is much smaller, typically reaching heights between 20 and 30 feet (6 and 9 m). The inflorescences form 4–10-inch-long (100–250 mm) bunches of creamy white flowers with distinctly yellow tinging; individual flowers are about 1 inch (25 mm) wide. They bloom in July and August.[5] The leaves 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.[5][6] Fruits are very narrow, foot-long pods.[5]

Although native to the more temperate provinces within China (Anhui, Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Monggol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang),[1] C. ovata is also cultivated in North America and Europe, and has become a parent of Catalpa × erubescens with the American species Catalpa bignonioides.[1][5] It is commonly used to make the undersides of qin.[7]

Gallery

Tree in flower in cultivation at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Leaves and pods

Closeup of mature Catalpa ovata at sunset

Chemistry

The plant contains dehydro-alpha-lapachone[8] (DAL) which inhibits vessel regeneration, interferes with vessel anastomosis, and limits plexus formation in zebrafish.[9] DAL also controlled the development of the fungi rice blast, tomato late blight, wheat leaf rust, barley powdery mildew and red pepper anthracnose (Colletotrichum coccodes (Wallr) S Hughes). The chemical was particularly effective in suppressing anthracnose.[10]
Other

Referenced in the Zhuangzi.[11]
References

Gen. hist. 4:230. 1837 "Catalpa ovata". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved December 7, 2009.
Gen. Hist. iv. 230. Plant Name Details for Catalpa ovata. IPNI. Retrieved December 7, 2009. "Notes: =Kaempferi"
Abh. Akad. Muench. iv. III. (1846) 142. Plant Name Details for Catalpa kaempferi. 4. IPNI. Retrieved December 7, 2009. "Notes: Japon"
"Catalpa ovata - G.Don". Plants For A Future. Archived from the original on July 6, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
Phillips, Roger (1978). Trees in Britain, Europe and North America. Cavaye Place, London, England: Pan Books Ltd. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-330-25480-9.
Phillips, Roger (1978). Trees in Britain, Europe and North America. Cavaye Place, London, England: Pan Books Ltd. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-330-25480-9.
Yeung, Juni (2010). Standards for the Guqin February 2010 Draft. Toronto: Toronto Guqin Society.
Dehydro-alpha-lapachone Archived 2012-04-02 at the Wayback Machine
Garkavtsev I, Chauhan VP, Wong HK, Mukhopadhyay A, Glicksman MA, Peterson RT, Jain RK.,"Dehydro-alpha-lapachone, a plant product with antivascular activity." Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2011 Jul 12;108(28):11596-601
Cho, JY; Kim, HY; Choi, GJ; Jang, KS; Lim, HK; Lim, CH; Cho, KY; Kim, JC (2006). "Dehydro-alpha-lapachone isolated from Catalpa ovata stems: Activity against plant pathogenic fungi". Pest Management Science. 62 (5): 414–8. doi:10.1002/ps.1180. PMID 16550502.
"Chinese Text Project Dictionary".