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Can you ID this BIG plant?

3K views 29 replies 22 participants last post by  harrisjnet 
#1 ·
Hi, I'm new to the Plant ID section (been lurking, and on the Goats section). Hope it's OK to jump in here.

Can someone please help identify this plant. It is about 8 feet tall, but I don't think it will be a tree. I think it has a hollow stem (but I could be wrong about that).

Top of plant:

http://home.earthlink.net/~nlyons545/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/id1.jpg

Close up of one leaf (about 12-15 inches across):

http://home.earthlink.net/~nlyons545/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/id2.jpg

Nancy
 
#8 ·
But a Catalpa is a tree - we call them bean trees, and the beans are poisonous. I would have voted for Castor bean - I'll have to go google it too. It sure looks like what my husband's step-grandma had growing a couple of years ago and she said it was a Castor Bean.
 
#11 ·
Aren't catalpa leaves smooth edged with one point. And smaller? And cottonwoods are toothed along the entire edge right?

That second pic is a good pic of the leaf and size. Almost looks like a paulownia (foxglove tree). The article here http://www.crocus.co.uk/gossip/monsterplants/? (second pic down) has the tomentosa listed and the pic is close... close, but I don't think that's it either.
 
#17 ·
We're not in the mountains, but pretty far north. Saw one by the roadside while driving, so it can survive in sunny dry, as well as partially shaded.

The leaves have 5 large veins coming directly from the stem. That's what looks different from the other plants you all have posted.

Maybe it is a tree. Some trees here (like poplar and hickory) have extremely large leaves when they are seedlings, but look completely different when they get big.
 
#21 ·
We had never seen a tree like thatl a few years ago one came up on it's own. It grew very fast for a tree. An old timer called it a Whistle Tree, don't have a clue why. We finally cut it down because it was just making too much shade for my other plants. It was 30+ ft. high the first year! The main stalk had a soft center and when it dried out it was hollow. We burnt some in the fireplace, it burnt hot and very quickly.
 
#24 ·
i agree with kitaye, cockleburr. if it gets small flowers like a sun flower ,nuke the plant with what ever it takes, then burn the remainder!! saw a farm infested after they had seen a couple of plants the year before ,took lots of herbicide to clean the field :grump:
 
#25 ·
I would bet heavily on Paulownia. The leaves are VERY large on the small plants, as the tree gets established they become smaller. The wood has some value, even though it is very light and not strong at all, it is used for carving quite a bit. The japanese make "hope" chests for their daughters using the wood from it. The flowers are large and showy and smell good OUTSIDE. If you bring them inside they will perfume the whole house and the sweet scent is cloying in a confined space. (this from unfortunate personal experience)
 
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