CHAPTER THIRTEEN 



THE CATALPA OR INDIAN BEAN 



U. S. Forest Service 

 FIG. 51. Leaves and flowers of the catalpa. 



CATALPA trees grow wild in some of the Southern 

 states and in the southern part of Indiana and Illinois, 

 and about many towns in the Eastern states one sees 

 them planted as shade and ornamental trees. The 

 leaves, which are very large, appear later than those 

 of most Northern trees. The flowers form large, showy 

 clusters; they are creamy white, more or less spotted 

 with purple or brown, and marked inside with two rows 

 of yellow blotches. They appear in early summer -after 

 the blossoms of most trees have gone. The fruit consists 

 of pods, sometimes 20 inches long, that hang in clusters 



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