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; 
Y% inch long; borne on short, jointed pedicels in fascicles of 4-8; 
calyx campanulate, 5-toothed, dark red; petals 5, rose color; 
stamens Io, in 2 rows. 
FRUIT.—June-July, remaining on the tree until early 
winter; a short-stalked legume 214-3 inches long, pointed at both 
ends, rose color; seeds 10-12, brownish, %4 inch 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. 
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