I live in Birmingham, AL. There is a beautiful plant/bush that grows here that seems to start under paved areas, breaks through the cement. It is a perennial. People cut it down as far as they can when the leaves down (or before, as it is considered a nuisance plant by most). The one that lives in the parking lot near me is cut down to a foot or two every fall, it starts greening in early spring, grows very fast and by frost it is 15-20 feet tall. It has semi woody hollow stems with small white spots, solid green leaves that grow to 2 feet across or more and 3 feet or more long. and go from rich green to brown after a couple frosts. The leaves are shaped somewhat like an elephant ear plant, but are slightly fuzzy and tender. It is very juicy and sticky. The leaves will can be dried easily but are very fragile. The dried stems are hollow and very light and musical. It makes an almost instant shade tree or fence in several months. All the thick branches spring from the base of the plant. They get no watering except for rain and can endure drought. I see these plants growing in cement only, not in open woods or fields. Does anyone know what this plant is? Thanks for any info. Linda
How about Paulownia tomentosa? http://www.paulownia.org/ http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/ptomentosa.htm
I have thought of this plant, Paulownia tomentosa. But it never has any visible flowers. Maybe it doesn't bloom when it is cut down each season?? It does look like the plant that another member posted with same question.
Hi Linda: First off, please pardon my intrusion if I am way off base here. If the plant you are asking about is not a Paulownia tomentosa then it more likely is a Catalpa speciosa. With the URL's I wanted to show the size of the leaves as they can be exceptionally large. If this plant is indeed the one you are asking about, which as you can see from the first URL grows rather well in your area, then the explanation as to why you have not seen one flower is because the tree has to be around 15 years old to bloom. What kept bugging me was that I always thought that Catalpa was an invasive tree and it is as referenced by the last URL. There have been excellent posts for this thread and I thought the posts by Daniel, Jimmyq and Chris' stooling thread hit the nail on the head but by the size and shape of the leaves in question I have to think the plant that Linda was asking about might be a Catalpa speciosa instead. http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/plant_profile.cgi?symbol=CASP8&photoID=casp8_007_avp.jpg http://project.bio.iastate.edu/trees/campustrees/Catalpa_flowers.html http://www.naz.edu:9000/~treewalk/catalpa/catalpa.htm http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/c/catspe/catspe3.html Jim
Let me first say that I would not have involved myself in this thread if I did not take the description at face value. Having some knowledge of both plants (Paulownia and Catalpa) and the fact that the description does indeed refer to both plants in their own way, I felt that I had to come in. This is just one of those times when an image or two of the tree was most needed as both plants are more than very similar. Now, it is a matter of Linda going through the URL's and then telling us which plant is closer to being the right one. On a further note, Catalpa bignonioides is native to the Southeastern US. The Empress tree and Catalpa have been confusing people for years and so, apparently, I will remain as one of them. Jim
forgot my name..... I will try to get a photo of this tree/bush and send it. thanks everyone, Linda in Birmingham, al
i think Paulownia has opposite lvs. But I think catalpa has alternate leaves. Can see diff when young.
On the left and right are two forms of Catalpa with leaves arranged in whorls of three. In the center is Paulownia tomentosa with the first three or four leaves alternating but subsequent leaves opposed. Hope this helps.
Hi, Can anyone tell me where to search on this site to see a photo of any of the plants/trees? Forgive me, this is my first day on the site and I'm still green. (good one, but no pun intended). Thanks a lot. Pat
Hello Pacific17, There is a search function on the green bar at the top. Your searches for plants will turn up threads, which may or may not have photos, many do. There are photo gallery forums toward the bottom of the page - there is a Photography and Art forum, a forum for UBC Botanical Garden photos from the public (Your Photos, sub-forum of the Talk About the UBCBG forum). And a series of photos from the UBCBG taken by staff. There is a Maple Photo gallery as a sub-forum of the Maple forum, where each thread is devoted to a specific named maple. Also look through the Botany Photo of the Day series on the home page of the UBCBG Website for excellent photos accompanied by interesting information.
