My favorite blooms in early July decorate an unusual tree, once commonly found throughout Illinois and other nearby states. It’s a catalpa tree that was growing in the backyard when I moved in, and ...

Meghan Holmes is a writer and documentarian specializing in scientific topics such as the environment, invasive species, sustainability, and food issues. She holds a master's in Southern Studies from ...

Have you ever heard of a “fence-post tree"? Also known as Indian bean tree, cigar tree, catawba, or caterpillar tree, Catalpa is a large tree with showy white, fragrant flowers, massive heart-shaped ...

There was one northern catalpa tree in my neighborhood when I was a child. I didn’t know what it was, but I loved that tree. In June, it had clusters of large bell-shaped, ruffled white flowers with ...

In 1922, according to an article in The Daily Appeal , four catalpa trees graced the Capitol grounds. "They are in full bloom, and with their immense green leaves and beautiful snow-white blossoms, ...

Catalpas are irregularly shaped trees shrouded in deeply ridged, coarse gray bark. These quirky trees grow quickly and can easily reach heights of 40-70 feet tall. Their rapid growth rate and ...

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I saw something I have wanted to see for a long time. I always had heard of the notorious Catalpa worm but had never seen one firsthand. Now, before the reader thinks ...

I stopped to stare at some buckets of flowers at a farmers’ market last Sunday. The white flowers, their throats speckled purple and yellow and grouped together on stalks like a candelabra, looked ...

Looking for a hardy native tree that is anything but boring? Catalpa trees are known for their knockout flowers and distinctive, green bean-shaped seedpods. Having previously fallen out of fashion ...