1. Bignoniaceae (the bignonia family)
110 genera
Mostly tropical
Leaves opposite or whorled
Big flowers

2. trumpet creeper Campsis radicans (Bignoniaceae)
Opposite, pinnately compound leaves
Serrate leaflets
Red trumpet-shaped flowers
Cigar-shaped capsules
A trailing or climbing vine
Aerial roots

3. catalpa Catalpa spp. (Bignoniaceae)
Large, opposite or whorled, heart-shaped leaves
Twigs stout, lenticellate, pith solid
Bark scaly
Flowers 2” long, white, in panicles, spring
Fruit = capsules up to 18” long, like cigars, seeds
winged, fall
2 species planted and escaped, now common
throughout Delaware
Habitat = edges and open areas
No commercial importance or wildlife value

4. paulownia (also known as princess-tree) Paulownia tomentosa (Scrophulariaceae)
Leaves opposite, very large (up to 12”), heart-shaped,
hairy (tomentose)
Twigs stout, lenticellate, pith usually hollow
Leaf scars large and horseshoe-shaped
Bark light gray, not deeply furrowed
Purple flowers in spring, very showy
Fruit = a woody capsule, oval, green and sticky at
first and then brown and dry, filled with many
small seeds with papery wings
A fast-growing medium-sized tree
Invasive species – very aggressive
Common throughout Delaware

5. Caprifoliaceae (the honeysuckle family)
300 species of shrubs and vines and a few
small trees
Temperate regions of the northern hemisphere
Very important ornamentals – more than 100 species planted in our area

6. Japanese honeysuckle Lonicera japonica (Caprifoliaceae)
** Invasive Exotic **
Opposite simple leaves are small
Hollow pith
Very fragrant flowers in late spring
Black berries
Does not have aerial roots or tendrils
A vine found throughout Delaware
Shade-intolerant

7. arrowwood Viburnum dentatum (Caprifoliaceae)
Opposite, simple leaves with big teeth, shiny
Twigs angular and smooth
Buds light brown
Flowers white, small, in clusters in spring
Fruit similar to mapleleaf viburnum
A shrub up to 15 feet tall
Common in moist forests throughout Delaware
Good for wildlife

8. mapleleaf viburnum Viburnum acerifolium (Caprifoliaceae)
Leaves opposite, simple, 3-lobed with coarse teeth
Deep red in fall
Palmate venation with rugose veins
Buds purple
Small white flowers in clusters in summer
Fruit = ¼” dark blue drupes
Twigs thin and velvety
A shrub to 6’ common in New Castle County
Understory dweller in moist forests
Good wildlife value

10. common elderberry Sambucus canadensis (Caprifoliaceae)
Opposite, pinnately compound leaves
5-7 pairs of elliptical, serrate leaflets
Twigs with warty lenticels, stout, smell bad when crushed
Solid white pith
Leaf scars broad crescents, can meet to form ringed nodes
Flowers in summer in big clusters. Profuse.
Fruit = drupe. Purple, ¼”. Late summer.
A shrub to 10’ tall found next to streams and in bottomlands
Common statewide in Delaware (but only on its habitat)
Good food for wildlife
Not commercially important

12. blackhaw Viburnum prunifolium (Caprifoliaceae)
Opposite leaves somewhat like black cherry leaves
Red petioles, concave, subtlety winged
Twigs slender with orange lenticels
Spur shoots like spines
½” terminal bud
Bark on bigger specimens like flowering dogwood
Flowers white, in 3” clusters in spring
Fruit = dark blue ½” drupes with red stalks, summer.
Range = the Mid-Atlantic states west to Missouri,
including all of Delaware
Habitat = understory of moist woods
Can be a small tree to 25’
Good for wildlife