BIGNONIA FAMILY BIGNONIACEAE 
TRUMPET FLOWER. TRUMPET CREEPER 
Tecoma radicans (L.) Juss. 
The Bignonia family is composed of trees, shrubs and 
woody vines, most of which have large and showy flowers. 
Most of them are tropical plants. The familiar Catalpa trees 
and the Cross Vine, which are 
found in the extreme southern 
end of the state, belong to this 
family. The seeds of all mem- 
bers are winged. 
Flowers of the Trumpet 
Creeper are pollinated largely by 
hummingbirds, which obtain 
nectar from the bases of the long 
corolla tubes. Nectar glands are 
also found on the outside of the 
calyx, and these are frequented 
by ants. 
The Trumpet Flower or Trum- 
pet Creeper is found in moist 
woods and thickets or in waste 
places in the open from New Jer- 
Florida and Texas. It is rare or 
absent from extreme northern Illinois but is common in the 
central and southern parts. This is a woody vine which climbs 
20-40 feet high or in open places grows prostrate or sometimes” 
takes the form of a shrub. The opposite leaves are compound, 
with 7-11 leaflets. The latter are ovate to lanceolate, short stalked, 
sharply toothed, net veined, smooth or slightly hairy on the 
veins beneath, acute or acuminate at the tip and narrowing at 
the base, and are 1 4-3 inches long. 
The large scarlet flowers are produced in August and Septem- _ 
bers in clusters of 2-9. The calyx is bell shaped and 5-toothed. 
The long tubular corolla is slightly 2-lipped and 5-lobed at the 
end. The 4 stamens are arranged in pairs beneath the upper lip 
of the corolla and do not extend out of the flower. The pistil 
consists of a 2-celled ovary, a slender style and a 2-lobed stigma. 
The fruit is a podlike capsule 4-6 inches long, containing a large 
number of flat, winged seeds. ~ 
314 
sey to Illinois and Iowa, south to 
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