Knowledgebase

Large leaf tree with pods #347678

Asked July 28, 2016, 5:18 PM EDT

We live in La Plata, after the Tornado which totally wiped out our back yard forest, volunteers planted new saplings. Fourteen years later we have beautiful 25 ft hardwoods, however, there is are trees that I can't identify. The leaves are about 10"-15" across, one tree is younger and is the close-up picture, no pods, trunk is about an inch. The other tree his much larger, with pods, trunk 4-5". If you need a closer look I will get a camera with a zoom since my phone couldn't get larger. Larger tree is 25-30' tall. I'm afraid that the seed pods will propagate hundreds of new trees. thanks so much for your assistance

Charles County Maryland

Expert Response

Catalpa and paulownia have large leaves as shown in  your photo.  Catalpa leaves come in whorls of three.  It looks like your leaves are in pairs, which makes it a paulownia.  http://extension.umd.edu/hgic/paulownia-empress-or-princess-tree   The seed pods will generate hundreds of trees.  If you know someone with acorns or maple seeds, you might want to scatter them. vw

Loading ...