from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Bignonia \Big*no"ni*a\, prop. n. [Named from the Abb['e]
Bignon.]
1. (Bot.) A large genus of American, mostly tropical,
climbing shrubs, having compound leaves and showy somewhat
tubular flowers. {Bignonia capreolata} is the cross vine
of the Southern United States. The trumpet creeper (also
called the trumpet vine), with large red tubular flowers,
was formerly considered to be of this genus, but is now
classified as {Campsis radicans}.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
2. any member of the family {Bignoniaceae}, including the
{bignonia[1]}, {catalpa}, {trumpet creeper}, and {princess
tree}. They typically have brightly colored tubular
(trumpet-shaped) flowers.
[PJC]