LEGUMINOSAE 

 Redbud. Judas-tree 



Cercis canadensis L- 



HABIT. A small tree 20-30 feet high, with a trunk diameter 

 of 10-15 inches; divided near the ground into stout, straggling 

 branches to form a broad, flat crown. 



LEAVES. Alternate, simple, 3-5 inches long and broad; 

 heart-shaped or rounded; entire; thick; glabrous, dark green 

 above, paler beneath, turning bright yellow in autumn; petioles 

 slender, terete, enlarged at the base. 



FLOWERS. April-May, before or with the leaves; perfect; 

 Vz inch long; borne on short, jointed pedicels in fascicles of 4-8; 

 calyx campanulate, .s-toothed, dark red; petals 5, rose color; 

 stamens 10, in 2 rows. 



FRUIT. June-July, remaining on the tree until 'early 

 winter; a short-stalked legume 2^/2-3 inches long, pointed at both 

 ends, rose color; seeds 10-12, brownish, J4 i ncn long. 



WINTER-BUDS. Terminal bud absent; lateral buds % 

 inch long, obtuse, somewhat flattened and appressed, brownish. 



BARK. Twigs lustrous, brown, becoming dark or grayish 

 brown; red-brown, deeply fissured, with a scaly surface on old 

 trunks. 



WOOD. Heavy, hard, coarse-grained, weak, dark red- 

 brown, with thin, lighter colored sapwood. 



DISTRIBUTION. Valleys of the Grand and Raisin Rivers 

 and southward. 



'HABITAT. Prefers the borders of streams and rich bot- 

 tom-lands, often in the shade of other trees. 



NOTES. A rapid grower. Hardy within its range. Can be 

 transplanted with success only when very young. Plants begin to 

 produce flowers freely when 4-5 years old. Much used in land- 

 scape gardening. 



167 



