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Bignoniaceae, the trumpet creeper or catalpa family of the figwort order of flowering plants (Scrophulariales). It contains about 120 genera and 650 species of trees, shrubs, and, most commonly, vines, mostly of tropical America, tropical Africa, and the IndoMalayan region. They form an important part of the tropical forest vegetation because of the 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 compound leaves and bell- or funnel-shaped, bisexual flowers having a five- lobed calyx and corolla (fused sepals and petals, respectively); two long and two short, male, pollen-producing structures (stamens) arising from the corolla tube; and a female structure (pistil) positioned above the attachment point of the other flower parts, on a disk, and consisting of two fused, ovule-bearing structures (carpels) enclosing two, or rarely one, chambers that contain many ovules attached along the central axis.
Among the important ornamental and useful members are the African tulip tree (Spathodea), calabash tree (Crescentia cujete), sausage tree (Kigelia pinnata), trumpet vine (Campsis), trumpet flower (Bignonia Capreolata), cat’s claw (Doxantha unguis-cati), the timber-producing West Indian boxwood
(Tabebuia), jacaranda (Jacaranda), empress tree (Paulownia), flowering willow (Chilopsis), and the Cape honeysuckle (Tecornaria capensis).
African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata)
