Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis var. canadensis
Click or tap the section titles below to learn more about this species!
CLASSIFICATION: What’s in a name?
Scientific Name: Cercis canadensis var. canadensis. The genus comes from the Greek kerkis, shuttle, because the pods were thought to resemble a weaver’s shuttle.6 The epithet, canadensis, means “of Canada” which is misleading, as this species’ native range barely extends into southernmost Ontario!7
Common Name: Eastern Redbud. The common name refers to this species’ range in eastern North America, and the reddish-pink color of the buds. Perhaps a more accurate name would be magentabud!
Family: Fabaceae (Legume family). This is a very large plant family, characterized by flowers which often develop into beanlike pods or capsules (legumes).
IDENTIFICATION: What does it look like?
Average Height: 10-20 feet
Description: A small tree, usually with a single trunk, found on edges or in the forest understory. The bark is dark purple-gray and scaly or flaky, becoming somewhat furrowed on large trunks, with reddish-brown in between the plates. Twigs are smooth and dark gray, with lighter-colored lenticels (breathing pores). The leaves are simple, smooth-margined, and heart-shaped, oriented alternately along the twig. The flowers emerge in early spring before the leaves, and are bilaterally symmetrical (able to be split into two identical halves down the middle), with 5 petals, two which are fused together to form a keel which covers the reproductive parts of the flower, two wings and large upper petal called a banner.3 This arrangement is common in the legume family. In addition to growing from the twigs, flowers also emerge from the trunks and main branches. Later in spring, beanlike pods form which ripen in fall, drying out and splitting open to disperse the seeds.
Bloom time: Mar – Apr
Notes: The smooth-margined, heart shaped leaves are unique amongst our trees.
LOCATION: Where is it at home?
Range: Found across Virginia, but not documented on the Eastern Shore.5 Widespread in the eastern and central US, from Florida north to Pennsylvania and Michigan, west to Nebraska and New Mexico. Plants in the southwestern part of the range are considered var. texensis.1
Geology/Soil: Most abundant on rich clayey or loamy soils weathered from rocks rich in calcium and magnesium, such as greenstone (metabasalt), amphibolite, limestone, and diabase.
Habitat: Rich slope forests, oak-hickory forests, rocky woodlands, barrens, fencerows, thickets, roadsides, edges, hardpan forests, and Piedmont savannas. Typically found over calcium-rich soils.5
CONNECTIONS: What are its relationships to other plants, animals, and humans?
Flora associations: Grows with a wide variety of species across its range. In the Virginia Piedmont, common associates in forests include black walnut (Juglans nigra), tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera), white ash (Fraxinus americana), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), Bosc’s witchgrass (Dichanthelium boscii), and rue-anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides). In grasslands, thickets and barrens, eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), curlyheads (Clematis ochroleuca), upland ironweed (Vernonia glauca), New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus), and rock muhly (Muhlenbergia sobolifera).
Fauna associations: Eastern redbud is a larval host plant for the Henry’s elfin (Callophrys henrici), a delicate and elusive early spring butterfly, as well as the redbud leaf-folder moth (Fasciata cercerisella), grape leaf-folder moth (Desmia funeralis) and grape leaf skeletonizer moth (Harrisina americana). A wide variety of native bees visit the flowers.4
Human associations: The flowers are edible raw, with a mild, pleasant flavor, and the young pods can be cooked and eaten as well. In addition to its edible parts, Indigenous people use redbud for a wide variety of craft and medicinal purposes. The roots and inner bark are used for treating fevers, congestion, and vomiting, and the wood is valuable for fence posts, bows, and firewood.2
We want these plants to thrive and for everyone who gets to visit the park to enjoy them, so remember – don’t pick flowers or other parts of the plant!!
Bibliography & Definitions
1 “2013 BONAP North American Plant Atlas. TaxonMaps.” Bonap.net, bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Cercis. Accessed 28 May 2024.
2 “BRIT – Native American Ethnobotany Database.” Naeb.brit.org, naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=cercis+. Accessed 28 May 2024.
3 Grabowski, Janet . Florida ECS Quick Tips Structural Profile of the Pea or Bean Family. July 2016.
4 Hilty, John. “Redbud (Cercis Canadensis).” Illinoiswildflowers.info, 2019, www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/redbud.htm.
5 Virginia Botanical Associates. “Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora | Cercis Canadensis L. Var. Canadensis.” Vaplantatlas.org, vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=2611&search=Search. Accessed 28 May 2024.
6 Damery, Jonathan. “Cercis: The Redbuds.” Arnold Arboretum, 15 Mar. 1976, arboretum.harvard.edu/stories/cercis-the-redbuds/#:~:text=The%20generic%20name%20Cercis%20is. Accessed 28 May 2024.
7 “Tree of the Month: Eastern Redbud.” ReForest London, 2014, www.reforestlondon.ca/resources/eastern-redbud/#:~:text=In%20Canada%2C%20redbuds%20are%20most. Accessed 28 May 2024.
Definitions:
Keel: The pair of petals on a legume flower which enclose the reproductive organs.
Banner: The upper fused petal on a legume flower, often the largest petal.