Part 28

The family Bignoniaceæ (named for the Abbé Bignon) is an order of woody plants found abundantly in South America. It has a single representative genus cultivated in the Northern States and found wild in the South,—the catalpa. There are two species, the common catalpa and the hardy catalpa, the latter being the most desirable for planting.

Catalpa speciosa

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A tall tree, 60 to 80 feet high, with a thick, slightly furrowed bark. Smooth, gray, coarse, stiff twigs. Oval leaf-scars arranged in whorls of three on the stem, or opposite each other. The buds are short and inconspicuous, with loose scales, The fruit is in long pods, hanging on the tree till spring.

The catalpa is an attractive tree in winter on account of the long slender pods which hang from the tips of the branches, and give the stout stems a light effect otherwise lacking, for taken alone they are coarse and bluntly moulded and very rigid. The name catalpa comes from an Indian word meaning winged head; and as the catalpa has dense, heavy foliage in summer and suggests solidity rather than the light effect “winged” conveys to one’s mind, it is just possible that the Indians referred to its winter aspect when they gave it the name. The buds open very late in the spring, giving the tree a lifeless appearance long after other trees are green.

The value of the catalpa as a timber tree is fast becoming recognized. It grows rapidly, with an average increase of an inch a year in the diameter of the trunk, and the wood is very durable in contact with the soil; when used for railroad ties it has been known to remain sound for over twenty years. Its practical value is shown by the experience of an Illinois farmer who planted five hundred acres of these trees, and after eight years’ growth thirteen thousand posts were cut and sold for thirteen hundred dollars, and the remaining trees were improved rather than harmed by this thinning out.

The Latin name, speciosa (well-formed), refers to the beautiful flowers of this tree. The catalpa grows wild in the Middle West, and is cultivated commonly in parks and gardens in the Northeastern States.

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The Simaroubaceæ family is a small order of trees and shrubs found in the South, with one genus in the North, a cultivated and widely naturalized tree,—the ailanthus from China.

Ailanthus glandulosa]

A large tree, with gray bark. Very large, coarse twigs with brown pith. Large alternate leaf-scars, V-shaped, or heart-shaped, with numerous bundle-scars. The buds are small, round, and inconspicuous, and covered with two scales. The terminal buds are lacking. The fruit is winged, like that of the ash, but its seed is in the centre. The dry clusters of fruit hang on some trees through the winter.

Ailanthus glandulosa

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The ailanthus, like the Kentucky coffee tree, is destitute of small spray among its branches, but it would never be confused with that tree on account of its smooth bark, which is a great contrast to the roughly ridged bark of the Kentucky coffee tree. Its stems are smooth and thick, and the large leaf-scars are much more prominent than the buds. Its large, pinnate leaves, often over four feet long, make the ailanthus decorative in summer, but its coarse stems in winter diminish its æsthetic value in landscape gardening. It grows very fast at first, its leading stems sometimes reaching over six feet in a single season; but after ten or twelve years this rate decreases and it advances with moderate growth.

In America it is planted only as an ornamental tree, but its wood is fine-grained, hard, and takes a good polish, and is well fitted for cabinet making.

The generic name was originally spelled ailantus, and came from ailanto (tree of heaven), the name of this tree in the Moluccas; its name was undoubtedly given to it on account of the rapidity of its growth and the great height it reaches in its native country. The specific name, glandulosa (glandulous), refers to the margins on the under side of the leaves.

The ailanthus originally came from China, but it has become naturalized here, and is planted very commonly in city streets, along country roads, and in parks and gardens. It was first brought to the United States by Mr. William Hamilton in 1784.

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The family Araliaceæ, well known by its herb members, the ginseng and wild sarsaparilla, has one tree-like representative,—the aralia.

Aralia spinosa]

A shrub or low tree, 8 to 30 feet high. Coarse, stout stems, covered with large prickles. The alternate leaf-scars are narrow and project from the stem and almost encircle it. The bundle-scars are near together and conspicuous. The buds are covered with loose scales and are small for the size of the stems. The white pith in the stems is conspicuous when they are cut.

Among all trees and shrubs the aralia is unique in winter. Its stout, club-like stems, thickly beset with prickles, are so large they never fail to attract attention, and whatever lack of beauty there may be is overlooked owing to their grotesque aspect. In our Northern gardens it is only a shrub, but it invariably arouses curiosity and seems to compel attention more than trees three times its size.

The bark of the root and the berries are occasionally used in medicine as a stimulant.

Aralia spinosa

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The meaning of the generic name is unknown. The specific name, spinosa, is the Latin word meaning prickly, and alludes to the stems.

Southward from Pennsylvania this curious, ungainly tree is found growing wild, and as it is hardy in the North it is frequently cultivated in gardens. It is seen at its best in the rich soil of the Big Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. There it grows to be thirty or thirty-five feet high, with wide-spreading branches and a true arborescent habit.

CHAPTER XIII