Bignoniaceae

Bignoniaceae, the trumpet creeper or catalpa family of the mint order of flowering plants (Lamiales). It contains about 110 genera and more than 800 species of trees, shrubs, and, most commonly, vines, chiefly of tropical America, tropical Africa, and the Indo-Malayan region. They form an important part of tropical forest ecosystems because of their numerous climbing vines. A few are found in temperate regions, notably the catalpa tree (Catalpa), the trumpet creeper (Campsis), and the cross vine (Bignonia).

The family is characterized by oppositely paired, usually bicompound leaves and bell- or funnel-shaped bisexual flowers. The flowers feature a five-lobed calyx and corolla, two long and two short stamens arising from the corolla tube, and a pistil positioned on a disk above the attachment point of the other flower parts. The ovary consists of two fused ovule-bearing carpels enclosing two (rarely one) chambers that contain many ovules attached along the central axis. The seeds are usually flat and winged and are generally borne in a capsule fruit.

jacaranda

Among the important ornamental and useful members are the African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata), calabash tree (Crescentia cujete), sausage tree (Kigelia africana), trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), cross vine (Bignonia capreolata), cat’s claw (Dolichandra unguis-cati), trumpet tree (Tabebuia), jacaranda (Jacaranda), flowering willow (Chilopsis linearis), and Cape honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis).