Do you know if Catalpa trees are poisonous?

[Ruth n Jersey]

When I was a kid my Uncle had several Catalpa trees growing on his property. I called it a bean tree because of the huge long beans that grew on them. I would pick the pods ,cut them up in a pot and pretend I was cooking them. This would keep me busy for hours.

Recently my son was clearing some brush from around the property he rents for his shop. The owner was also working with him. They both began to have trouble breathing and feeling a bit faint. The only unusual plant on the property is an old Catalpa tree.

I tried to research this and didn't find any info about it being poisonous although some use to be used for medicinal purposes. There are several varieties. I would assume the ones around where I live in New Jersey would be the Northern Catalpa. Has anyone had a reaction to these trees? As a kid they didn't bother me.

 

[treeguy64]

There are a few species of Catalpa trees, and unless someone is chewing the roots of one of them, the odds of getting ill from them are almost nil, existing sensitivity notwithstanding.

 

[dkay]

Any possibility that it might be in the dirt/dust being stirred up by the removal of the brush. Perhaps something like residual ground sterilant, pesticide, brush killer in the soil?