Introduced · Up to 18 m

Indian bean tree

Catalpa bignonioides · Bignoniaceae

Also called southern catalpa

Indian bean tree is a broad, open tree with big, pale green leaves. After hot summers, long, thin pods up to 40 cm hang from its bare branches in winter.

Often mistaken for common lime. How to tell them apart →

Know it byPodsBrown when ripe, hanging from bare branches through winter.

Leaves15 to 30 cm, smooth-edged, and foul-smelling when bruised.

FlowersAbout 5 cm long, spotted yellow and purple, in July and August.

Then check · BarkPinkish orange, cracked into shallow square scales, on a short trunk that often leans.

How to identify an Indian bean tree

Pods

Thin and brown when ripe, 20 to 40 cm long, hanging from the bare branches through winter after a hot summer.

portioid, CC BY 4.0

Leaves

Big, 15 to 30 cm, pale green and smooth-edged with a sudden point at the tip, often three at one spot, and foul-smelling when bruised.

Flowers

Upright heads of white bells about 5 cm long, spotted yellow and purple inside, in July and August.

Learn the Indian bean tree in TreelyEvery part through the year, and a short round each day until you know it.Get Treely

Every part, in photographs

Indian bean tree leaves: huge broad leaves, often three at one spot — LeavesHuge broad leaves, often three at one spot

Indian bean tree flowers: white bells splashed yellow and purple inside — FlowersWhite bells splashed yellow and purple inside

Indian bean tree bark: shallow scaly squares, pinkish orange — BarkShallow scaly squares, pinkish orange

Cheongweei Gan, CC BY 4.0

ShapeBroad and open on a short leaning trunk

When to look

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In leaf

Flowers

Pods

In leaf: June to October · Flowers: June to August · Pods: July to March

Every tree on the calendar

Where you’ll find it

Planted in parks, gardens and city streets, most often in the warmer parts of the country. It is quite common in many large cities, London among them. In its native range it grows in rich, moist soil beside streams and rivers.

What it’s mistaken for

Indian bean tree or common lime?Both are big planted trees with broad, roughly heart-shaped leaves.Leaf's size and edge

In the app

There’s more of the Indian bean tree in Treely

Every part, through the yearLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed in every season
Its lookalikes, side by sideThe checks that settle it, part by part
A short round each dayUntil you know the Indian bean tree on sight, from any side
Name it from a photoA leaf, the bark or a flower, and Treely tells you which tree

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Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.

Photographs: Cheongweei Gan (CC BY 4.0), portioid (CC BY 4.0), nikonbird007 (CC0), bobwardell (CC0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.