r/PlantIdentification • u/Awkward_Contract_785 • 13h ago
Tree Need a Name
This tree has grown in our backyard for a year or two and is now about 10 meters tall. The leaves grow quite large (pictured) and they radiate three to a node, two opposite each other and one smaller leaf between the other two. I’d like to call it something other than “that odd tree” especially since we have three of them growing wild in our yard. Any thoughts? We are in central Ohio.
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u/Top_Challenge6615 13h ago
That is definitely a Catalpa one of the only trees in North America that has the largest leaf
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u/Ballmaster9002 13h ago
One could argue there is only, in fact, one tree with the largest leaves.
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u/Glad-Depth9571 2h ago
Northern and Southern Catalpa, and the Bigleaf Maple…are three species with very large leaves.
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u/Awkward_Contract_785 9h ago
Identified (potentially). Thank you all who have replied. I have settled upon catalpa or paulownia based upon responses and verification from The Book of Trees by William Carey Grimm 1962 Stackpole. It’s an old book but well researched. Your replies gave me a basis for further research and I’m grateful. The closest match seems to be catalpa.
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u/GilesBiles 8h ago
It’s not paulownia. Paulownia has opposite arrangement while catalpa has whorled arrangement. Your image shows whorled arrangement, therefore it’s catalpa
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u/No-Illustrator-3370 13h ago
With rapid growth rate in mind and HUGE leaves. Compare to paulwonia, empress tree. Highly invasive, fast growing tree
Does the broken stem have a bad smell? That would point to empress tree
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u/Intelligent_Bet_8727 5h ago
So that's what that tree is I've got on my property it doesn't produce the pods like catalpa's do I thought it was a catalpa tree but it didn't produce the pods like they do and it went from just about waist high to in 4 years it's almost 20 ft at the time oh and when I cut through it then it was hollow in the center which is weird I'd never seen a catalpa like that
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u/GilesBiles 13h ago
Catalpa