258 



CASUABINA 



score or more of trees and shrubs in the Australian re- 

 gion and the Indies, being the only plants of the family. 

 They are usually classified near the walnut and hickory 

 tribes, although very unlike them or other known 

 plants in botanical characters. They are jointed and 

 leafless plants, somewhat suggesting Equisetums in 

 gross appearance of branches. The fls. are unisexual. 

 The staminate are in cylindrical terminal spikes, each 

 fl. consisting of a stamen inclosed in 4 scales, 2 of the 

 scales being attached to the filament. The pistillate fls. 

 are in dense heads borne in the axils, and this head 

 ripens into a globular or oblong cone ; they are com- 

 posed of 1-ovuled ovaries subtended by bracts. The 

 fruit is a winged nutlet. The branches are- long and 

 slender. Beefwood is planted in the extreme south for 

 its very odd habit, and also to hold sands of the sea 

 coast. The wood burns quickly, and is very hard and 

 durable. The redness of the wood has given the popu- 

 lar name, Beefwood. Remarkable for rapid growth. 

 They grow well in brackish and alkaline soils. Prop, 

 by seeds and cuttings. 



equisetifdlia, Linn. Tree, becoming 150 ft. high in 

 favorable climates, and a most rapid grower. Branches 

 drooping, pale green, simple, 6-8-angled or terete, the 

 internodes very short (less than %in.): sheath-teeth 7 

 (6-8) lanceolate and appressed : staminate cone nearly 

 terete : pistillate cone short-peduncled, ellipsoidal, 

 about 12-sided. Widely distributed in Old World 

 tropics, and the best known species in this country 

 (S.Fla. and Calif. ). The wood is valuable for many 

 purposes. 



383. Catalpa speciosa in fruit. 



stricta, Dryand. Becoming 20-30 ft. high : branches 

 erect, simple, 6-7-angled, scarcely green, internodes 

 short, as in the latter : sheath-teeth usually 7, ovate- 

 lanceolate and appressed: staminate cone slender; pis- 

 tillate cone nearly sessile, oblong (sometimes staminate 

 above), about 14-sided. Austral. 



toruldsa, Dryand. (C. tenuissima, Sieber). . Reaches 

 70 or 80 ft. : branches erect, capillary, mostly terete, in- 

 ternodes short : sheath-teeth 4, very short, triangular 

 appressed : staminate cones filiform : pistillate cones 

 ellipsoidal, 8-10-sided. Austral. L H. B. 



CATALPA (the Indian name of C. bignonioides) . 

 Bignoni&cece. Deciduous trees with opposite or whorled, 

 long-petioled , large and simple Ivs. : fls. in large, showy 

 panicles; corolla tubular-campanulate, 2-lipped, with 2 

 smaller upper and 3 larger lower lobes ; calyx 2-lipped : 

 fertile stamens 2 : fr. a very long, cylindrical capsule, 

 separating into 2 valves, with numerous small, oblong, 

 compressed seeds bearing a tuft of white hairs on each 

 end. Eight species in N. Amer., W. India and E. Asia, 

 of which 4 are hardy in the colder temperate regions. 

 Highly ornamental trees with large, bright green fo- 

 liage and beautiful white or yellowish fls. in large, 

 showy panicles. The coarse-grained and soft wood is 

 very durable in the soil, and, therefore, much valued 

 for fence-posts and railway ties. They grow in almost 

 any somewhat moist soil, and are hardy as far north as 

 New England. Prop, by seeds sown in spring, in the 

 north, best with slight bottom heat, or by cuttings from 

 ripe wood, the varieties often by softwood cuttings in 



CATALPA 



early summer or by grafting on seedlings or on roots 

 under glass in spring ; also increased sometimes by 

 layers and root cuttings. 



384. Catalpa speciosa. Natural size., 



A. Fls. white, with two yellow stripes inside, and 

 spotted purplish brown. 



bignonioides, Walt. (C. syringifolla, Sims). Tree, 

 20-50 ft. : Ivs. often whorled, cordate-ovate, abruptly 

 acuminate, sometimes with 2 lateral lobes, pubescent 

 beneath, 5-8 in. long, of unpleasant odor : panicles 

 many-fld.; fls. about 2 in. in diam., thickly spotted in- 

 side : pod 6-20 in. long, %-% in. thick. June, July. 

 S. states, north to Tennessee, often naturalized else- 

 where. B.M. 1094. L.B.C. 13:1285. S.S. 6:288-89. 

 Gng. 6: 118-119. G. P. 3: 537, 539. J. H. III. 32: 121. 

 G.C.III. 21: 298. -Usually low tree, with very wide- 

 spreading branches. There are some garden forms. 

 Var. aturea, Hort. Lvs. yellow. Var. nana, Hort. (C. 

 Btingei, Hort., not C. A. Mey.). Forms a dense, round 

 bush, often grafted high. Gng. 3:195. Var. purpurea, 

 Hort. Lvs. purple when young, green at length. 



specidsa, Warder. Fig. 383, 384. Tree, to 100 ft.: Ivs. 

 cordate-ovate, long-acuminate, pubescent beneath, 8-12 

 in. long: panicles usually few-fld.: fls. about 2% in. in 

 diam., inconspicuously spotted inside: pod %-%in. 

 thick. June. From southern Illinois and Indiana to 

 Louisiana and Mississippi. S.S. 6:290-91. R. H. 

 1895:136. A very desirable ornamental tree, closely al- 

 lied to the former, but taller and hardier. 



hybrida, Spath. (C. bignonioldes X ov&ta) . TEAS' 

 JAPAN HYBRID. Large tree, intermediate between the 

 parents: the Ivs. resemble more those of C. ovata, and 

 are purplish when unfolding, but much larger and 



