catalpa

Meaning

Noun

• Any tree of the genus Catalpa, in the family Bignoniaceae. The two North American species, the southern catalpa, Catalpa bignonioides (species), and the northern catalpa, Catalpa speciosa (species) — along with the yellow catalpa, Catalpa ovata (species), from China — are often planted as ornamentals because of their showy flowers and decorative bean pods, though others regard the bean pods as a nuisance.

Origin

• A variant of catawba that originated when Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, the describing botanist, incorrectly transcribed the name.
• Sometimes alternatively said to derive from Creek kvtvrpv.