536 



The Redbuds 



neath; leaf-stalk round, slender, seldom as long as the blade, the stipules small, 



leaf-like, caducous. The flowers, appearing 

 from March to May before the leaves, are 

 in clusters of 4 to 8, their pedicels 5 to 12 

 inm. long; the calyx-tube is dark red or pur- 

 ple, 3 to 4 mm. long, its lobes short and 

 rounded; petals pink or rose-colored, the 

 standard oval, 7. to 8 mm. long, keel-petals 

 concave, about i cm. long; ovary pubescent 

 and short-stalked. The pods remain on the 

 branches until winter; they are linear-oblong, 

 6 to 9 cm. long, nearly straight, tapering ob- 

 liquely at each end, short-stalked, quite thin 

 and papery, pinkish bronze and somewhat 

 glaucous. The seeds are broadly ovate, 6 

 mm. long, light brown. 



The wood is hard, weak, somewhat 



coarse-grained, dark red-brown; its specific 



gravity is about 0.64. 



It is often cultivated for ornament in Europe and in this coimtry. Its rapid 



growth, great beauty in its early profusion of bloom, and general neatness at all 



times, recommend it for use where a small tree or large shrub is desired. 



Fig. 494. — Redbud. 



2. TEXAN REDBUD — Cercis renifonnis Engehnann 

 Cercis occidentalis texensis S. Watson. Cercis texensis Sargent 



A small tree or rather large shrub of Texas and 

 adjacent Mexico, where it attains a height of 12 

 meters, with a trunk diameter of 3 dm. In the 

 mountain valleys of Texas, however, it is usually a 

 small ^hrub, often forming thickets. 



The bark is smooth and Ught brown. The twigs, 

 frequently hairy at first, become light brown and 

 ultimately dark gray. The leaves are orbicular, 7.5 

 to 10 cm. long, scarcely as wide, bluntly pointed, 

 deeply heart-shaped at the base, sometimes slightly 

 wavy on the margin, smooth, dark green above, paler 

 and sometimes hairy, especially when young, beneath; 

 leaf-stalk relatively stout, enlarged at each end and 

 often hairy. The flowers are rather small, densely 

 clustered, on short slender stalks. The pod is very ^'°- '^'S- 

 flat, linear-oblong, 6 to 10 cm. long, acute at each end, nearly or quite sessile in 

 the persistent calyx; seeds ovate, about 5 mm. long, light brown. 



• Texan Redbud. . 



