BIGNONIACEJS. 254 



E. AmERICANUS. J^utt. Orobanche Virg. L. 



Stem branched leafless; Jioioers rcmoie , alternate; corolla 4-toothed, decid- 

 uous. This is said to be a parasitic plant growing from the roots of beech 

 treea. It is indeed often found in beech woods, but [ lra:ve seen it in situations 

 too remote from any tree of that kind to consist with the notion, that it grows 

 exclusively in such localities. Root a scaly ball covered with stiff, short and 

 brittle radicles. Stem a foot high, with slender and irregular branches given 

 off the whole length of it. Instead of leaves it has only a few small, ovate 

 scales, one at the base of each branch. Flnwers alternately scattered on each 

 branch, the upper ones barren, with recurved corollas, brownish white, with 

 darker stripes above. Fertile ones smaller, deciduous. The whole plant is of 

 a dull red color, Aug. Sept. Beeclt-drops. 



ORDER LXXXIX. BIGN0NIACEJ5:. m jyumpet.Jlo^verTV<i>e. 



Cal. — .5-partetlor bilabiate, sonietimes spathaceons. 



Cor. — Tube broad, uiili un irretrular, .5-lobetl or bilabiate limb. 



Sta. — 5, 1 or 3 sterile, ut'teii iliilynamous. Anthers 2-eelled. 



Ova. — S-celled, seated in a fle.sliy disk. Style \. Stigma of 2 plates. 



Fr. — Capsule coriaceous, 1 — "-J-celled, 2-valved, many-seeded. 



Sds. — Generally winged, dtstitute of albuineil. 



Trees, sometimes slirubby or climbing plains. Leaves opposite. Flowers large, showy. 

 Most of the species are North American. Others are diffused in all countries, particularly 

 within the tropics. Several of the Brazilian species of Bignonia alford a valuable limber. 

 But this order is best known for the beauty of its flowers. 



Genera. 

 Calyx 5-toothed. Stamens 4 fertile. Climbing shrubs. .... Bignonia. 1 

 Calyx 2-parted. Stamens 2 fertile, with 2 or 3 abortiifei Trees. . . . Catalpa. 2 



1. BlGNO'NlA. 



Calyx 5-tcothed, cyathiform ; corolla campanulate, 5-Iobe(l, 

 ventricose beneath ; stamens didynamous; pod 2-celled ; seeds 

 with nnenabranous wings. 



Named by Tournfort in honor of Abbe Bignon, a distinguished patron of 

 science, librarian to Louis XIV. A large and noble genus of trees and 

 shrubs, chiefly tropical. Leaves opposite, pinnate, terHate ot conjugate. 

 Fls. panicled, large and beautiful. 



B. ra'dicans. 



Z,fif/»cs pinnate, leaflets ovate, dentate, acuminate; M/?/mi terminal ; tube 

 of the corolla 3 times as long as the calyx ; stem creeping, rooting. The 

 trumpet-flower is a climbing shrub of great beauty, indigenous in the middle 

 latitudes of the tJ. S. In its native woods it supports itself on trees by roots 

 issuiniT from the joints, to the hight of 3(1 or 40 feet. It is cultivated both in 

 this country and in Europe. It is hardy and is generally trained against the 

 walls of buildings. The flowers are produced at the ends of the new shoots, 

 in large and numerous clusters. Corollas with long swelling tubes, orange- 

 colored. One vaiiety has yellow-scarlet flowers ; another bright scarlet. 

 June— Aug. Trumpet-Jiower. 



2. CATA'LPA. 



Calyx 2-parted ; corolla campanidate, 4 — S-cleft, the tube 

 inflated; stamens 2 fertile, 2 or 3 sterile; stigma 2-lipped ; 

 capsule 2-celled, long, cylindric. 



