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Saturday, June 7, 2014

X Chitalpa tashkentensis - Chitalpa

This hybrid is a rapidly growing deciduous tree with a  20-35' height and spread, forming a dense, spreading oval canopy. Most of the specimens I have seen are in the 20 foot range. Parents are Catalpa bignonioides and Chilopsis linearis.



Leaves are deciduous, simple, oblanceolate to elliptical, to about 6"long with entire margins. Light green above, paler below with light coating of hairs. They appear to be clustered at the tips of the branches.



The Catalpa-like flowers are attractive, trumpet shaped, about 1" long, borne in upright racemes with 15-30 flowers, pink to almost white depending on the cultivar.




Bark is more or less smooth with shallow linear groves.



Pink Dawn - pink and Morning Cloud pale pink to white

Misidentification:
From a distance it looks somewhat like a Myoporum, and I think I rode by this one several times before looking more closely.

Location
Aptos
201 El Camino Del Mar (Seacliff area)

Soquel
Old San Jose Highway 1002 (about)

Santa Cruz
1001 Soquel Ave at Bicycle Trip
216 12th Ave
500 block of Calcedonia (across from 503)