virginia plant sightings: the cigar tree

catalpa speciosa

i saw one of these in a neighbor's yard. i believe they also grow along broadway in ann arbor. the flowers are beautiful and showy in spring. there are long thin bean pods hanging high up amongst the broad heart shaped leaves. it is also called indian cigar tree and apparently the pods can be smoked for hallucinogenic affect.

here is a story i found about smoking the pods and not hallucinating.

as for medicinal qualities, apparently the seeds , bark and pods can be used in a decoction for bronchial conditions and asthma. the leaves can be applied to wounds or brewed for their sedative and narcotic qualities. the bark was used as a treatment for malaria. and if that's not enough, the tree hosts the catalpa sphinx caterpillar, highly regarded by fishermen as bait.

here is a pretty good article about the catalpa.