BiIGNONIA 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 spectosa is a western species that has come into 
notice later than C. caéa/pa ; 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. speccosa 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. 
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