Chitalpa is an intergeneric

Hybrid name

In botanical nomenclature, a hybrid may be given a hybrid name, which is a special kind of botanical name. The ICBN provides the following options in dealing with a hybrid:...

 hybrid flowering tree in the family Bignoniaceae

Bignoniaceae

The Bignoniaceae, or Trumpet Creeper Family, is a family of flowering plants comprising about 650-750 species in 116-120 genera. Members of the family are mostly trees and lianas , shrubs and more rarely herbaceous plants. As climber plants, they are twine climbers or tendril climbers, and rarely...

, bred from Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis

Chilopsis

Chilopsis is a genus of flowering plant, containing a single species, Chilopsis linearis. It is a small tree native to the southwestern United States and Mexico...

) for desert hardiness and color, and Southern Catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides) for larger blooms. The name is nothogeneric, or a combination of the two parents' names. Leaves are lanceolate, 4 to 5 inches long and an inch wide. The trumpet-shaped flowers are 1" long and frilly. The inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

 is indeterminate, with alternately arranged flowers.

Cultivation

Chitalpa is dry-spell tolerant and fast-growing (several feet a year to 20–30 ft.) and blooms between late spring and late fall. There are two cultivars: 'Pink Dawn' with pink flowers, and 'Morning Cloud' with white and pale pink blooms.