ORDER 83. BIGNONIACE^E. 513 



Gentra 44, species 450. mostly South American. Others are diffused in all countries, par. 

 ticularly within the tropics. Several of the Brazilian species of Bignonia afford a valuable tim- 

 ber. But this order is best known for the beauty of its flowers. (Figs. 210, 2&t, '285, 219.) 



* Leaves compound. Vulves of the pod parallel with the partition BIGNONIA. 1 



* Leaves compound. Valves of the pod contrary to the partition TECOMA. 2 



* Leaves simple. Pod straight, cylindric. Partition subcylindric CATALPA. 8 



1. BIGNO'NIA, Tourn. (Named for the Abbe Bignon, Librarian to 

 Louis XIV.) Calyx margin 5-toothed or entire; corolla somewhsb 

 bilabiate, 5-cleft, funnel-shaped ; stamens didynamous, 4 fertile, 1 a ster- 

 ile filament; capsule long and narrow ; valves flat or scarcely convex, 

 parallel with the partition. Trees, shrubs, or woody climbers, often 

 with tendrils. 



B. capreolata L. CROSS-VINE. Climbing, glabrous ; Ivs. binate, cirrhous, leaf- 

 lets 2, lance-ovate, cordate, acuminate, entire, a branched tendril between ; ped. 

 1-flowered, 2 to 3 together, axillary ; calyx nearly entire. Woods, Va. and Tenn. 

 (Miss Dana), to Fla. and La. A vine with smooth, reddish brown bark, 30 to 

 60f long, very slender, over shrubs, up tall trees. Fls. large, red, orange within. 

 Pods 7 or 8' long, f ' wide, curved, flat, with many broad-winged seeds both sides 

 of the broad partition. Mar. May. 



2. TECO N MA, Juss. (Bignonia L.) TRUMPET FLOWER. Calyx cam- 

 panulate, 5-toothed ; corolla tube short, throat dilated, limb 5-lobed, 

 subbilabiate or equal ; stamens 4, didynamous, with the rudiments of a 

 fifth, anther-cells 2, diverging; capsule 2-celled, 2-valved, the valves 

 contrary to the partition ; seeds winged. Trees or shrubs, often climb- 

 ing. Lvs. opposite, digitate, or unequally pinnate. 



1 T. radicans Juss. Climbing by radicating tendrils ; Ivs. unequally pinnate, Ifts. 

 4 or 5 pairs, ovate, acuminate, dentate-serrate, puberulent beneath along the 

 veins ; corymbs terminals ; cor. tube thrice longer than the cal ; stam. included. 

 A splendid climber in woods and thickets, along rivers, Penn. to Fla., W. to 111. 

 St. 20 to 8 Of in length, ascending trees. Lvs. 10 to 15' long, Ifts. 2 to 3' by 1 to 

 2'. Fls. 2' long, of a bright scarlet. Pods 6' long, curved. A transverse sec- 

 tion showing a cross. Seeds very numerous. Jn. Aug. f 



2 T. Cap^nsia Lindl. Glabrous ; Ivs. unequally pinnate, Ifts. 3 to 4 pairs, 

 roundish -ovate, acuminate, serrate, bearded in the axils of the veins beneath; ra- 

 cemes pedunculate, dense-flowered; cor. long, tubular, incurved ; stam. and sty. ex- 

 serted. Cultivated. Cor. 2' long, yellow scarlet. The style far projecting, f 

 Cape of Good Hope. 



3 T. grandiflora Delaun. CHINESE TRUMPET FLOWER. Climbing, glabrous ; 

 Ivs. unequally pinnate, Ifts. 3 to 5 pairs, ovate-acuminate, dentate-serrate ; pani- 

 cle terminal ; pedicels nodding, biglandular ,* cor. tube scarcely longer than the 5-cleft 

 calyx. Fls. of a rich scarlet, shorter and broader than in T. radicans. f China 

 and Japan. 



3. CATAL'PA, Scop. CATALPA. (The Indian name.) Calyx 

 2-parted ; corolla campanulate, 4 or 5-cleft, the tube inflated ; stamens 



2 fertile, 2 or 3 sterile ; stigma 2-lipped ; capsule 2-celled, long, cylin- 

 dric. Trees. Lvs. opposite or ternate-verticillate, simple, petiolate. 

 Fls. in large, showy, terminal panicles. 



C. bignonioides Walt. Lvs. membranous, ovate-cordate, pubescent beneath, 

 acuminate, subentire ; branches of the panicle di-trichotomous ; cal. lips mucro- 

 nate. A fine, wide spreading tree, native in the Southern States, but cultivated 

 at the North for ornament and shade. In favorable circumstances it attains tho 

 height of 6 with a diam. of nearly 2f. Lvs. beautifully heart-shaped, with a 

 silky luster, often a foot in length. It blossoms in great profusion. Cor. cam- 

 panulate, white, with yellow and violet spots. Caps, cylindric near a foot in 

 length ; seed winged. May Jl. (See Figs. 210; 284, 5; 463.) 



33 



