Catalpa.—In the Atlantic states, the Catalpa begins to be found in the forests, on the banks of the river Savannah, and west of the Alleghanies, on those of the Cumberland, between the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth degrees of latitude. Farther south it is more common, and abounds near the borders of all the rivers which empty into the Mississippi, or which water West Florida. In the regions where it grows most abundantly, it frequently exceeds fifty feet in height, with a diameter from eighteen to twenty-four inches. It is easily recognised by its bark, which is of a silver-gray color, 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 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.
Magnolia Grandiflora.—‘Bartram and others,’ says Mr. Flint, ‘by overrating the beauty of this tree, have caused, that when strangers first behold it, their estimation of it falls too low. It has been described, as avery large tree. We have seen it in Florida, where Bartram saw it. We have seen it in its more congenial position for full developement, the rich alluvions of Louisiana; and we have never seen it compare with the sycamore, the cotton wood, or even the ash, in point of size. It is sometimes a tall tree; often graceful in form; but ordinarily a tree of fourth or fifth rate in point of comparative size in the forest, where it grows. Its bark is smooth, whitish, very thick, and something resembles that of the beech. The wood is soft, and for aught we know, useless. The leaves strongly resemble those of the orange tree, except in being larger, thicker, and having a hoary yellowish down upon the under side. The upper side has a perfect verdure, and a feel of smoothness, as if it was oiled. The flowers are large, of a pure white, nearest resembling the northern pond lily, though not so beautiful; and are, ordinarily, about twice the size. The fragrance is indeed, powerful, but to us rather sickly and offensive. We have felt, and we have heard others complain of feeling a sensation of faintness, in going into a room, where the chimney place was filled with these flowers. The tree continues to put forth flowers for two months in succession, and seldom displays many at a time.
‘We think, few have been in habits of examining flowering trees more attentively than ourselves, and we contemplated this tree for years in the season of flowers. Instead of displaying, as has been represented, a cone of flowers, we have seldom seen a tree in flower, which did not require some attention and closeness of inspection, to discover where the flowers were situated among the leaves. We have not been led to believe, that others possessed the sense of smell more acutely, than ourselves. In advancing from points, where these trees were not, to the pine forest, on the water courses of which they are abundant, we have been warned of our approach to them by the sense of smell, at a distance of something more than half a mile; and we question, if any one ever perceived the fragrance much farther, except by the imagination. The magnolia is a striking tree, and an observer, who saw it for the first time, would remark it, as such. But we have been unable to conceive whence the extravagant misconceptions, respecting the size, number, fragrance and beauty of its flowers, had their origin.
‘There are six or seven varieties among the laurels of the magnolia tribe, some of which have smaller flowers than those of the grandiflora, but much more delicate, and agreeably fragrant. A beautiful evergreen of this class is covered in autumn with berries of an intense blackness, and we remarked them in great numbers about St. Francisville. The holly is a well-known and beautiful tree of this class. But that one, which has struck us, as being the handsomest of the family, is the laurel almond. It is not a large tree. Its leaves strongly resemble those of the peach; and it preserves a most pleasing green through the winter. Its flowers yield a delicious perfume. It grows in families of ten or fifteen trees in a cluster. Planters of taste in the valley of Red river, where it is common, select the place of their dwelling amidst a cluster of these trees.’
The Bow Wood is a very striking tree, found about the upper courses of the Washita, the middle regions of Arkansas, and occasionally on the northern limits of Louisiana. Its leaves are large and beautiful, and its fruit, which somewhat resembles a large orange, is of a most invitingappearance, but is ‘the apple of Sodom to the taste.’ It is considered by many the most splendid of all forest trees.
The China Tree is much cultivated in the south-western region of the states, as an ornamental shade tree. Its leaves are long and spiked, set in correspondence on each side of the stem. The verdure is deep and brilliant. When in full flower, the top is one tuft of blossoms. The tree is of most rapid growth, and its beautiful color imparts delightful freshness to the landscape. After the fall of its leaves, a profusion of reddish berries remain, and give at a little distance the appearance of continuing in flower. This berry is a narcotic, and stupefies the birds that eat of it.
The Papaw is seldom found north of the river Schuylkill, and is extremely rare in the low, maritime parts of the southern states. It is not uncommon in the bottoms which stretch along the rivers of the middle states; but it is most abundant in the rich valleys intersected by the western waters, where at intervals, it forms thickets exclusively occupying several acres. In Kentucky and in the western part of Tennessee, it is sometimes seen also in forests where the soil is luxuriantly fertile; of which its presence is an infallible proof.
It seldom exceeds thirty feet in height, and a diameter of six or eight inches, though it generally stops short at half this elevation. The trunk is covered with a silver-gray bark, which is smooth and finely polished. The leaves are alternate, five or six inches in length, and of an elongated form, widening from the base to the summit. They are of a fine texture, and the superior surface is smooth and brilliant. The flowers are pendent, and of a purple hue. When the fruit is ripe, which takes place towards the beginning of August, it is about three inches long, one and a half thick, of a yellowish color, and of an oval form, irregular and swelling into inequalities. Its pulp is soft, and of an insipid taste, and it contains several large, triangular stones.
Persimon.—The banks of the river Connecticut, below the forty-second degree of latitude, may be uniformly considered as the northern limit of this tree; but it is rendered rare in these parts by the severity of the winter, while in New Jersey it is common, and still more so in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the southern states; it abounds, also, in the western forests. The persimon varies surprisingly in size in different soils and climates. In New Jersey it is not more than half as large as in the more southern states, where, in favorable situations, it is sometimes sixty feet in height, and eighteen or twenty inches in diameter. The trunk of a full-grown tree is covered with a deeply-furrowed blackish bark, from which a greenish gum exudes, without taste or smell. The leaves are from four to six inches in length, oblong, entire, of a fine green above; in autumn they are often variegated with black spots. This tree belongs to the class of vegetables whose sexes are confined to different stocks. Both the barren and fertile flowers are greenish and not strikingly apparent. They put forth in June or July. The ripe fruit is about as large as the thumb, of a reddish complexion, round, fleshy, and furnished with six or eight semi-oval stones, slightly swollen at the sides, and of a dark purple color. It is not eatable till it has been touched with frost, by which the skin is shrivelled, and the pulp, which before was hard and extremely harsh to the taste, is softened and rendered palatable. The fruit is so abundant in the southern states, that a tree often yields several bushels. In the south, itadheres to the branches long after the shedding of the leaf, and when it falls, it is eagerly devoured by wild and domestic animals.
Dogwood and Red Bud.—These are plants between shrubs and trees. The former has a heart-shaped leaf, and an umbrella-shaped top. In spring, it adorns itself with brilliant, white flowers, and in autumn with fine scarlet berries. The latter is the first blossoming shrub on the Ohio; and its blossoms there resemble those of the peach tree. They are scattered every where through the wood, and impart a charm to the whole descent of the ‘beautiful river.’ The two are the most common, as they are the most beautiful shrubs of the great western valley.