Common Name(s): Eastern rebbud, American judas tree, American redbud, redbud
Scientific Name: Cercis canadensis
Family: Pea or legume family (Fabaceae)
Species Description
Growth form: Eastern redbud is usually shrub or small tree, typically 15 to 30 feet tall, with deciduous leaves and pink/ purple flowers
Leaves, twigs, and bark: Leaves of Eastern redbuds are simple, alternate, and entire, typically 2 to 6 inches long, heart shaped leaves. In fall, leaves turn a canary yellow and in the summer a dark green. Twigs are stout and gray. Bark is a light grayish-brown.
Leaves of Eastern redbud #631 , showing alternate leaf arrangement, entire margins, and heart shape. (Photos by Monai Allen (10/24/2019)
Leaf of Eastern redbud (Virginia Tech dendrology facts)
Flowers: Flowers of the eastern redbud are typically pink but can be purple. Blooms March through May usually before leaves appears. About 0.5 inches in length.
Pink flowers on Eastern redbud (trees of North Carolina)
Fruits: Fruits are in pea pod clusters. They turn pinkish to black; typically 2.5-3.25 inches in length
Clusters of pea pods. (VCU field botany site)
Native range and habitat: Eastern redbud grows throughout most of eastern U.S., stretching from Oklahoma, Texas and even the northern parts of Canada
Distribution of Eastern redbud across Virginia counties (VA Botanical Associates, 2019)
Plant Family: Eastern redbud is a part of the fabaceae family (pea or legume). The fabaceae family is the third largest family. You can tell a fabaceae plant by the fruit; which is a pea pod as pictured above. Majority of the plants in the fabaceae family are edible.
Ecologic Importance and Uses:
Edible and Medicinal Uses: Flower, buds, and pods are edible; can be eaten raw in salad form or pickled. The root of the redbud contains substance used for red dye.
Wildlife: Targeted by spiders, mites and tree hoppers.
Gardens and Landscaping: Eastern redbuds are ideal for planting. They aren't picky about the soil as long as it's moist enough and well-drained. Does well as an understory tree which is the underlying layer of vegetation in a forest or wooded area. Beautiful when planted in clusters.
Campus Specimens - Eastern Redbud
State and national champions? The largest eastern redbud in the country is located in Loudoun, Virginia. This national champion has a trunk circumference of 135 inches, height of 30 feet, and crown spread of 48 feet. Resulting in a total of 177 points. The Virginia state champion Eastern redbud is located in Loudoun, VA, and is the same measurements and total points as the national champion.
At Radford University, three eastern redbuds can be found next to Washington hall. (You can see the highlighted)
Tree #596
Trunk circumference: 19.0 inches
Tree height: 38.3 feet
Crown spread: 23.1 feet x 21.1 feet Average = 22.1 feet
Total points: 62.8
Notes: .
Tree #597
Trunk circumference: 10.0 inches
Tree height: 26.4 feet
Crown spread: 17.1 feet x 14.1 feet Average crown spread = 15.6 feet
Total points: 40.2
Notes: This tree is the smallest out of the ones I've collected.
Tree #564
Notes: This tree has numerous branches and the crown spread is very wide.
References
Elpel, T. J. (2018). Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification, Edition 6.1. Hops Press, Pony, MT.
Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation. (2019). Fringe Tree Fact Sheet, Virginia Tech Dendrology. dendro.cnre.vt.edu/DENDROLOGY/factsheets.cfm