342 Eleventh Annual Report 



2. FORESTIERA. 



Forestiera acuminata (Michaux) Poiret. Fond Brush. Crooked 

 Brush. Plate 127. Bark on small trees smooth, becoming rough 

 or fissured on larger trees, the ridges short and broken, light to 

 dark gray; branches slender, numerous and somewhat spiny; win- 

 ter buds ovoid, smooth or sometimes a few of the scales with ciliate 

 margins, much lighter in color than the twigs; leaves ovate to ellip- 

 tic-ovate, 3-9 cm. (134-33^ inches) long, long taper-pointed at the 

 apex, generally about as long pointed at the base, leaves on vigor- 

 ous shoots the largest and with a shorter tapering base, margins 

 with shallow rounded teeth to below the middle, rarely entire, a 

 light green and smooth both above and beneath; petioles about 1 

 cm. (^ inch) long; flowers appear in March or April before the 

 leaves, the staminate in small sessile clusters along the small branch- 

 es, the pistillate in short panicles; fruit a dark purple drupe, oblong, 

 about 15 mm. (^ inch) long; stone with many longitudinal ribs. 



Distribution. Southwestern Indiana and southern Illinois south 

 to Georgia and Texas. In Indiana it occurs only in a few counties 

 in the southwestern part of the State where it is found in swamps, 

 borders of ponds and low river banks. It is very tolerant of shade 

 and is frequently found growing in a thick stand of tall trees. It 

 is generally associated with Cephalanthus (Button Bush), Taxo- 

 diu7n (Cypress), Salix nigra (Willow), Betula riigra (Birch), Popu- 

 lus heterophylla (Cottonwood) and Fraxinus Michauxii (Swell-butt 

 Ash). In our area it is usually shrub-like and in some places it 

 forms almost impenetrable thickets. It sometimes reaches a height 

 of 8 m. (25 feet) and a diameter of 1.5 dm. (6 inches). The common 

 name given in books for this species is ''swamp privet" but no 

 one was found who knew it by that name. In Gibson and Posey 

 Counties it is commonly called "pond brush" and "crooked brush". 



The pubhshed records of the distribution are as follows: Gib- 

 son and Posey (Schneck); Knox (Ridgway). 



Additional records are: Gibson and Posey (Deam). 



Economic uses. Too small and the supply too limited to be of 

 any economic value. 



BIGNONIACE^. The Trumpet Creeper Family. 



CATALPA. The Catalpas. 



Leaves simple, opposite or whorled, with long petioles; flowers in 

 terminal panicles or corymbs; fruit a long round pod which splits into 

 halves; seeds many, flat, papery, with a tuft of long hairs at each 



