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| The catalpa trees are of special interest this week. Their long, skinny, conspicuous fruits are ripening. |
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| The 'Indian cigars' or 'bean pods' are drying out, turning from green to brown, and starting to split open, revealing their seeds. If you're interested in growing your own fish bait tree, be on the look-out this time of year. Of course, if you are nearby, come down to the arboretum and take an Indian cigar home with you. Make sure you get a brown and brittle one! |
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| These are truly long fruits. Unfortunately the foot-long ruler isn't up to the task of measuring the length. Let's just say the fruits are well over a foot, and possibly as long as two feet. |
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| On the outside, the fruits have a grooved texture that runs the length of the capsule. |
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| When the fruit dries, it becomes brittle and splits along those grooves. This brown seedpod was cut from the tree intact. Applying a little pressure, it popped open. Some seeds readily dislodged from the fruit. |
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| Seeds might dislodge from the capsule wall, and then dangle for some time, blowing in the wind. |
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| Other seeds remain attached to the inside wall of the capsule, and, presumably, would dislodge of their own accord over time. As a result, seed dispersal doesn't occur all at once. For the best opportunity to grow your own fish bait tree, the USDA recommends waiting until winter or early spring to collect catalpa seeds, as the seedpods are expected to remain attached to the tree throughout fall and winter. But, of course, you could collect seeds now, and then try again in the spring, too. |
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| Seeds are concealed in a white, papery fiber resembling wings, which suggests wind dispersal. It wasn't tested for this photo shoot, but presumably the light-weight fiber floats on water, too. |
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| The seed covering isn't easy to remove. Leave it on for germination. |
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| Without their wings, seeds measure approximately ½ inch in length. |
