( VIAI.P \ 

 talpa bignonieidi a Walt. 



The Trumpet-creeper Familj 



BIGNONl ICE U 



Habit and Habitat: This tree is usually Bmaller than the hardy 



catalpa as the two species grow in tins state. The tree is 26-40 feet 



high, with a short, thick trunk, oftm branched low down into an irregular 



>wn of crooked and angular branches and twigs. This species also 



requires moist rich soils for its be8t development and an abundance of 

 light under which conditions it is a rapidly growing ttt 



Leaves and Buds: Leaves opposite or whorled, simple, 3-8 incl 



lor. inches broad, heart-shaped, entire or occasionally coarsely 



•bed or lobed, thin and tough, smooth and 1 i jjfht green above, paler 

 and downy beneath, turning dark, often almost black, and falling rapidly 

 after the first severe frost; petioles long and stout, cylindrical; buds 

 brownish, globular, not prominent. 



Flowers and Fruits: Flowers appearing in mid-summer, when the 



e full grown, produced upon slender pedicels in compact, many- 

 flowered clusters, 6-10 inches long; calyx preen or purplish, 2-lolx 



corolla white with yellowish spots, bell-shaped, 5-lobed. irregular in 

 shape; fertile stamens 2; ovary '2-celled. Fruit ripening in early fall, but 

 often remaining on the tree throughout the winter in Nebraska, a slender, 

 2-celled. cylindrical, more or less curved pod. 6-15 inches long and about 

 * 4 inch thick, opens in spring and sheds many of the seeds before falling; 

 seeds abundant, tawny or grayish, 1 inch long, with more or less penciled 

 or pointed, fringed wings at each end. seed near the middle between two 

 opposite notches in the wing. 



Bark. Twigs and Wood: The bark of young twigs is green or 

 tinged with purple, later becoming reddish-brown, often more or less 

 ridged, reddish or yellowish brown on the main trunk, and often sep- 

 arating into large, thin, irregular scales; twigs coarse and stubby; wood 

 light, soft, weak, coarse, light brown, with thin, almost white sapwood, 

 y durable in contact with the soil. 



Distribution in the State: This tree is a native of the lower Mi- 



-ippi valley, but has been introduced and planted widely in many 



northern and eastern states. It is almost as popular as a shade and 



amenta! tree as the hardy catalpa in Nebraska, but is not so hardy in 



climate as the latter species. However, this tender Bpecies of 



talpa does very well in moist sites in southeastern Nebraska where it 



has been planted very commonly. 



Rcsaarka: The wood of this species is practically as good for fence 



~ts as that of the hardy Catalpa, but because of its slower rate of 



■wth and less hardy nature is not to be recommended when the hardy 



1 may be secured. The tree should be handled in plantations 



ut the same as for the hardy catalpa. This tree is often confused 



with the hardy catalpa and sometimes it is difficult for even the expert 



to be sure of his identifications. The best point for separating the hardy 



from the tender species is based upon the septum or the partition in the 



fruit about which tl produced. In the hardy species this 



turn is very bread and plump as seen in a « i ction while I 



turn of the tender catalpa p<>d is quite slim or narr<»w as ieen in 



tion. 



—159— 



