Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Cercis canadensis var. canadensis
FAMILY
Fabaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Learn more about Eastern Redbud from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cercis canadensis var. canadensis
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cercis canadensis var. canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Cercis canadensis var. canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Cercis canadensis var. canadensis
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-04-001:
Cercis canadensis FAMILY Fabaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cercis canadensis
COMMON NAME:
Eastern Redbud, Judas Tree
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_636
)
JK Marlow jkm0303y_07
March Greenville County SC
)
Keith Bradley kab_c_canadensis_2506
March Calhoun County SC
Congaree Bluffs Heritage Preserve
Flowers are borne on old wood, and appear in spring before the leaves, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
Jan Haldeman jhh305_a
March?
"Cauliferous" flowers often grow straight out of trunks and branches, per Pause for Plants (Haldeman).
)
Jan Haldeman jhh305_b
March?
Calyx reddish or roseate, basally oblique, lobes triangularly dentate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_cercis_canadensis_2_s
April
)
Sam Pratt sbp_20140402_181405
April Spartanburg County SC
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_1643097719529984
May Granville County NC
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_247180961235258
May NC
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_3548381208775423
May NC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_cercis_canadensis
May MA
Arnold Arboretum
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_cercis_canadensis_10
July
Bark dark gray to brown, becoming slightly furrowed with thin scaly plates, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_cercis_canadensis_12
July
Leaves palmately veined, glabrous above, bases heart-shaped, margins entire, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow s050902_f
September Greenville County SC
Petioles swollen at both ends, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm141024_260
October Greenville County SC
Fruit a flat, oblong legume, 3-4" long, stalked, dark brown, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm0411i_07
November Greenville County SC
Roadside
Fruit often persisting, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Cercis canadensis var. canadensis
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cercis canadensis var. canadensis
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cercis canadensis var. canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Cercis canadensis var. canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Cercis canadensis var. canadensis
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-04-001:
Cercis canadensis
FAMILY
Fabaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cercis canadensis
305
Tree
Perennial
Habitat: Moist to dry forests and woodlands, especially over calcareous or mafic rocks, also commonly planted as an ornamental, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in NC Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Unifoliolate (technically compound but having only 1 leaflet and appearing simple)
Mostly alternate
FLOWER:
Winter/Spring
Rose/Pink
(rarely white)
Bilaterally symmetrical
5-toothed irregularly campanulate calyx
5-parted corolla, vaguely papilionaceous
10 stamens
Superior ovary
Usually bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Legume
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p063
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p283
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p020
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p196
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p242
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p151
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p354
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p083
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p023
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p078
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p141
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p104
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p200
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p144
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p121
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p30
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p233
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p100
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