catalpa

noun

Etymology: * 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.

1. Any tree of the genus Catalpa, in the family Bignoniaceae. The two North American species, the southern catalpa, Catalpa bignonioides, and the northern catalpa, Catalpa speciosa — along with the yellow catalpa, Catalpa ovata, 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.