Herb: Shawnee Wood


Latin name: Catalpa speciosa


Family: Bignoniaceae (Trumpet-creeper Family)



Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Tree

Height:
15 m
(49 feet)

Flowering:
May to
June

Habitat of Shawnee Wood:

Borders of streams and fertile, often inundated, bottomlands and woods.

Other uses of the herb:

Wood - soft, not strong, light, coarse-grained, very durable in the soil. It weighs 26lb per cubic foot. It is largely used for fence posts and rails, telegraph poles etc, it is also occasionally used for making furniture, the interior finish of buildings etc. A very valuable timber tree in N. America.

Propagation of Shawnee Wood:

Seed - best sown outdoors, or in a cold frame, as soon as it is ripe. Stratify stored seed for 3 weeks at 1°C and sow in spring. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Softwood cuttings, 10cm long, in a frame. They should be taken in late spring to early summer before the leaves are fully developed. Root cuttings in winter.

Cultivation of the herb:

Borders of streams and fertile, often inundated, bottomlands and woods.

Medicinal use of Shawnee Wood:

None known

Known hazards of Catalpa speciosa:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.