1488 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



long, in. wide, greyish brown, with pointed wings ending in long pencil-like tufts 

 of white hairs. 



This species is much planted in gardens and around temples in Japan ; but is 

 not a native of that country, according to the Japanese botanists, who state that it 

 was introduced at an early period by the Buddhist monks. It was found wild 1 in 

 central China by myself and by Wilson in western Hupeh, and by Giraldi 2 in 

 Shensi. 



It was first made known to Europeans by Kaempfer, who visited Japan in 1690, 

 and published 8 in 171 2 a good description and figure of the tree. It is usually 

 known in Japan as the Ki-sasage, or "bean-tree" on account of its peculiar pods. 

 Dupont, in a letter to Lavallee, mentions that he never saw this tree in the forest in 

 Japan, but always planted, and records one 75 ft. in height and 5 ft. in girth growing 

 near a temple. 



It was introduced into Europe from Japan by Siebold in 1849, and has probably 

 thriven best at Segrez, where Lavallee mentions a tree, which covered an area over 

 40 yards in circumference. It appears to be much hardier both in France and at 

 Boston 1 (U.S.) than C. bignonioides. 



Plants raised from seed 5 sent from central China by Wilson to Coombe Wood, 

 and by Pere Farges to Les Barres, appear to be identical in all respects with trees 

 of Japanese origin. 



The finest specimen of C. Kaempferi known to us in England is a tree at Syon, 

 which measured, when Elwes saw it in July 191 2, 62 ft. by 5 ft. 1 in. It was then in 

 full flower, with capsules of the previous year containing ripe seeds. The oldest tree 

 at Kew, about 20 ft. high, was procured from Volxem in 1879. 



A remarkable hybrid has arisen between C. Kaempferi and C. bignonioides : 



Catalpa hybrida? Spath, in Gartenflora, lvii. 481, t. 1454 (1898). 



Catalpa x J. C. Teas, Sargent, in Garden and Forest, ii. 303, fig. (1889); Catalpa Teasiana, Dode, 

 in Bull. Soc. Dend. France, i. 205 (1907). 



A tree, said to be of remarkably vigorous growth, resembling C. Kaempferi in 

 foliage, but intermediate in flowers and fruit between that species and C. bignonioides. 

 It produces extremely large panicles, 18 to 20 in. long and 10 in. wide, of 200 to 

 300 fragrant flowers, about 1 in. long ; corolla tinged with yellow in the throat and 

 marked with broad purple stripes. Fruit 1 2 to 15 in. long, \ in. wide. 



This hybrid was raised about 1880 in J. C. Teas' nursery at Baysville, Indiana, 

 from seed out of a peculiar single pod which was observed on a tree of C. Kaempferi. 

 The latter grew near trees of both C. bignonioides and C. speciosa, but the pollen 



1 It is figured in the Chik Wu Ming, xxxiii. pi. 48 (1848). 



2 Cf. Diels, in Engler, Jahrb. xxxvi. heft 4, p. 98 (1905). 



3 Aman. Exot. 842 (1712). * Sargent, in Card. Chron. xii. 784 (1879). 



6 Sargent, in a letter to Kew, dated 2nd February 1900, states that seeds received from Shanghai in 1892 of reputed 

 C. Bungei, produced plants of C. Kaempferi. 



A young tree at Kew, 10 ft. high, of Chinese origin, bears leaves identical in odour, shape, pubescence, and colour, 

 with an older tree of Japanese origin. Specimens sent from Les Barres show no differences. 



7 Dode, op. cit. 204, identifies C. hybrida, Spath, with C. erubescent, Carriere, described above, p. i486. Rehder, how- 

 ever, in Bailey, Cycl. Am. Hort. i. 258 (1900), considers Spiith's description to refer to Teas' hybrid; and this appears to 

 be correct. Spath does not say, as Dode asserts, that the hybrid originated in his nursery. 



