BIGNONIACEiE— BIGNONIA FAMILY 



CATALPA. INDIAN BEAN 



Catdlpa Catdlpa. Catdlpa bignonioulcs. 



A tree with a short thick trunk, long and straggHng branches 

 which form a broad and irregular head. Loves river banks and 

 moist shady places. Roots fibrous, branches brittle. Its juices are 

 watery and contain a bitter principle. 



Bark. — Light 1)ro\vn tinged with red, Branchlets forking regu- 

 larly by pairs, at first green, shaded with purple and slightly hairy, 

 later gray or yellowish brown, finally reddish brown. Contains 

 tannin. 



Wood. — Light brown, sapwood nearly white ; light, soft, coarse- 

 grained and durable in contact with the soil. 



Winter Buds. — No terminal bud, uppermost bud is axillary. 

 Minute, globular, deep in the bark. Outer scales fall when spring 

 growth begins, inner scales enlarge with the growing shoot, become 

 green, hairy and sometimes two inches long. 



Leaves. — Opposite, or in threes, simple, six to ten inches long, 

 four to five broad. Broadly ovate, cordate at base, entire, some- 

 times wavy, acute or acuminate. Feather-veined, midrib and prima- 

 ry veins prominent. Clusters of dark glands, which secrete nectar 

 are found in the axils of the primary veins. They come out of the 

 bud involute, purplish, when full grown are bright green, smooth 

 above, pale green, and downy beneath. When bruised they give a 

 disagreeable odor. They turn dark and fall after the first severe 

 frost. Petioles stout, terete, long. 



Flowers. — June, July. Perfect, white, borne in many-flowered 

 thyrsoid panicles, eight to ten inches long. Pedicels slender, 

 downy. 



Calyx. — Globular and pointed in the bud; finally splitting into 

 two, broadly ovate, entire lobes, green or light purple. 



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