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CATALPA. 
Didynumia Angiosperma. Linn. Bignoniæ. Juss. 
Bignonia catalpa. B. foliis sirnplicibus, ternis, cordatis ; paniculà laxissimâ; 
fioribvs dianclris, intùs maculis purpureis etluteis aspersis ; capsula gracili, 
longâ, tereti. 
Catalpa SyringæfoUa. Sims. 
In the Atlantic States, the Catalpa begins to be found in the forests on 
the banks of the river Savannah, near Augusta in Georgia, and west of the 
Alleghanies, on those of the Cumberland, between the 35th and 36th de- 
grees of latitude. Further south it is more common, and abounds near the 
borders of all the rivers which empty into the Mississippi, or which water 
the province of West Florida. I have been assured that it is particularly 
abundant on the Escambia or Conechu, which empties at Pensacola. It 
is remarkable that the Catalpa should not exist in tbe lower part of the 
Carolinas and of Georgia, and in East Florida, which lie so near the coun- 
try of its natural growth, and where stocks that have been planted for orna- 
ment about the houses shoot with extraordinary vigor. 
In these southern regions it frequently exceeds 50 feet in height, with a 
diameter from 18 to 24 inches. It is easily recognised by its bark, which 
is of a silver-gray and but slightly furrowed, by its ample leaves, and by 
its wide spreading summit, disproportioned in size to the diameter of its 
trunk. It differs from other trees also by the fewness of its branches. 
The leaves are heart-shaped, petiolated, often 6 or 7 inches in width, 
glabrous above and downy beneath, particularly, on the principal ribs; 
they are late in venturing out- in the spring, and are among the first to 
shrink at the approach of autumn. The flowers, which are collected in 
large bunches at the extremity of the branches, are white, with violet and 
yellow spots, and are beautiful and showy. The capsules are cylindrical 
and pendent, of a brown color when ripe, three or four lines in diameter, 
and 12 or 15 inches in length. 
The seeds are thin, flat, and enveloped in a long, narrow membranous 
wing, terminated by a hairy tuft. Each seed with its wing, is about an 
inch long, and a line and a half broad. 
That the Catalpa is a tree of rapid growth, is proved by the distance of 
the annual concentric circles. Its wood is of a grayish white color, of a 
fine texture, very light, and very brilliant when polished. It resembles the 
