BIGNONIA FAMILY 



the stigma. But this is not the case. The lobes of the 

 stigma remain resolutely closed until after the anthers have 

 opened and discharged their pollen ; after they have withered 

 and become effete then the stigma opens and invites the 

 wandering bee. There is nothing more curious in the entire 

 field of biology than this refusal of self-fertilization on the 

 part of so many flowers. The entire Pink family behave in 

 this way. 



The leaves appear rather late, are large, heart-shaped, 

 bright green and as they are full grown before the flower 

 clusters open, add much to the beauty of the blossoming 

 tree. They secrete nectar, a most unusual proceeding for 

 leaves, by means of groups of tiny glands in the axils of the 

 primary veins. 



The fruit is a long, slender pod packed full of light silvery 

 seeds, each provided with a pair of pretty fringed wings to 

 bear it afloat by wind or water in search of a home. These 

 pods hang pendent upon the branches for the greater part of 

 the winter, sometimes far into the spring. 



The Catalpa is undoubtedly a southern tree. It seems that 

 Europeans first observed it growing in the fields of the Cher- 

 okee Indians, by whom it was called Catalpa. But its vital- 

 ity enables it to flourish at the north and the land of its 

 nativity is somewhat in doubt. The tree is fairly free from 

 fungal diseases and has few insect enemies. It is easily 

 raised from seeds which germinate early in the first season. 

 It also multiplies readily from cuttings. 



Catalapa spcciosa is a western species that has come into 

 notice later than C. catalpa ; it is largely planted throughout 

 the same range and is quite as satisfactory a tree for lawns 

 and parks. The difference between them is very slight, and it 

 may be that C. speciosa will some day be considered simply a 

 variety of the other. 



The genus is now found only in the United States, West 

 Indies and China. It was common in Europe during the 

 tertiary period and its fossil remains have been discovered 

 in the miocene rocks of the Yellowstone. 



228 



