How do you recognise Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis)?

Leaf

David J. Stang, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Eastern redbud

Cercis canadensis L.

Also known as: Redbud

Family: Fabaceae

6 to 10 m tall

Planted as a specimen in gardens for its early flowering directly on the wood

Flowering: April – May, before the leaves emerge

Full sun

Part shade

Hardy to about -25°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Like the European Judas tree, its pink flowers burst directly from the old wood and even from the trunk, a phenomenon called cauliflory. The Judas tree has rounded, thick, glossy leaves in a regular heart shape, whereas the eastern redbud has thinner, matt leaves with a drawn-out tip.

🍃 Leaves

Deciduous, heart-shaped, bright green (purple in the cultivar 'Forest Pansy'), turning yellow in autumn

🌸 Flowers

Small bright pink papilionaceous flowers, appearing in clusters directly on the branches and trunk before the leaves

🍎 Fruits

Flat red-brown pods, persisting for part of the winter

🪵 Bark

Grey-brown, smooth then slightly scaly

🗺️ Distribution

Native to eastern North America

🐝 Value for pollinators

Early, very nectar-rich flowering, visited by the first bees of spring

✂️ Horticultural uses

Very close to the European Judas tree but smaller and hardier; the purple cultivar 'Forest Pansy' is much sought after for its coloured foliage

🌱 Known cultivars

'Forest Pansy'

This cultivar bears dark purple to burgundy foliage, most marked in spring, in place of the typical green foliage of the species, while the pink flowering remains similar.