<h2 id="c20">BEAUTIFUL VINES TO BE FOUND IN OUR WILD WOODS <br/><span class="small">III.</span></h2>
<p>Another beautiful vine that grows wild
in most of our states is the Trumpet
Flower, a popular name for various species
of Bignonia and Tecoma, which belong
to the other Bignoniaaceæ or Bignonia
family, all of which are either
shrubs or woody vines. There are two
or three species of this family native to
the United States, chief among them being
the Tecoma radicans, or what is generally
known as the Trumpet Flower.
In some parts of the country it is also
called Trumpet Creeper.</p>
<p>The word Tecoma is of Mexican origin
and means trumpet, the only known
difference between the Tecoma radicans
and the Bignonia is a structural difference
in their pods.</p>
<p>We have several imported varieties of
both, that come from South Africa and
Japan, but none prettier than the Tecoma
radicans or Trumpet Flower, which any
of us can find along almost any roadside
or in rich, moist woods, blooming in the
greatest profusion in August and September.</p>
<p>It is a woody vine, climbing to great
heights by abundant rootlets, produced
along the stems. Its pinnate leaves have
from five to eleven ovate, toothed pointed
leaflets. Its deep orange-red flowers
come in midsummer and later and grow
in corymbs or clusters; its tubular corolla
is funnel-shaped, two or three inches
long, with five somewhat irregular lobes,
within which the four stamens are enclosed;
its fruit is a two-celled pod, containing
numerous winged seed.</p>
<p>The Trumpet Flower is found in a
wild state from Pennsylvania to Illinois,
and southward, and is very common in
cultivation, being vigorous and perfectly
hardy, soon covering a large space and
reaching to a height of sixty feet. Blooming
as it does in late summer, and early
fall when flowers are scarce, the abundance
of its great orange and scarlet flowers
make a very showy spot in a dull
landscape, and an especially attractive
bit of color, if you happen to find a vine
around which the ruby-throated hummingbirds
are hovering, they being very
partial to the nectar from its flowers.</p>
<p>It is a beautiful vine to drape a tree
that is in itself not very pleasing, or to
cover brick or stone outbuildings.</p>
<p>Its faults, and it is a shame to discover
faults in anything so beautiful, are a
tendency to become naked below, which
can be remedied by cutting back, an over
abundant production of suckers, and its
immensely long roots.</p>
<p>Bignonia capreolata, named for the
Abbe Bignon, who first found it, is a
closely related species, of a more southern
range than the Tecoma, being found in
Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia. Its
leaves consist of but two leaflets and a
terminal tendril. Its flowers, similar to
those of the preceding, are orange. In
the southern states it is called cross-vine,
as the wood if cut transversely shows a
cross.</p>
<p>One species of the Trumpet Flower,
the Tecoma stans, is a non-climbing
shrub of southern Florida and northern
Mexico. It grows about four feet high
and bears large clusters of lemon-yellow
flowers. It is hardy at Washington in
the Botanical Gardens and there were
fine plants exhibited at the Buffalo Exposition.</p>
<p><span class="lr"><span class="sc">J. O. Cochran.</span></span></p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_228">228</div>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />
1 of 2
2 of 2
Previous
Next
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.