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• Cercis canadensis

Cercis canadensis — redbud

Facts

The bright pink, pea-like blooms produced in the spring, before leaf-out, give Redbud its name. This shrub is sensitive to cold temperatures, so it is important to grow stock that is adapted to a particular hardiness zone. Typical of its family, it produces pods in the fall.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, ridges or ledges, woodlands

Characteristics

• Buds or leaf scars

  Bud scale number

  there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed

  Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)

  NA

  Collateral buds

  there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches

  Superposed buds

  • there are no superposed buds on the branch
  • there are superposed buds above the main (terminal) bud

• Flowers

  Carpels fused

  the carpel is solitary or (if 2 or more) the carpels are not fused to one another

  Enlarged sterile flowers

  there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant

  Flower appearance

  the flowers appear before the leaves

  Flower petal color

  pink

  Flower symmetry

  there is only one way to evenly divide the flower (the flower is bilaterally symmetrical)

  Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)

  NA

  Hypanthium present

  the flower has a hypanthium

  Inflorescence type

  • the inflorescence is a fascicle (compact cluster of flowers)
  • the inflorescence is a raceme (a long unbranched stem with stalked flowers growing along it)

  Number of pistils

  1

  Ovary position

  the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal and sepal arrangement

  the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal fusion

  • the perianth parts are fused to form a tube, cup, or bell shape
  • the perianth parts are separate

  Sepal cilia (Ilex)

  NA

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are fused to each other (not other flower parts), at least near their bases

  Stamen number

  10

• Fruits or seeds

  Berry color

  NA

  Fruit tissue origin

  • the hypanthium of the flower becomes part of the fruit
  • there are no flower parts that form part of the fruit

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe

  Fruit type (specific)

  legume

  Nut with spines (Fagaceae)

  NA

  Wings on fruit

  there are no wings on the fruit

• Glands or sap

  Sap color

  the sap is clear and watery

  Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)

  NA

• Growth form

  Growth form

  the plant is a tree

• Leaves

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  • the underside of the leaf has hairs on it
  • the underside of the leaf has no hairs

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Leaf blade base shape

  The base of the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped, with rounded lobes)

  Leaf blade edges

  the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes

  Leaf blade edges (Acer)

  NA

  Leaf blade flatness

  the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges

  Leaf blade hairs

  • NA
  • the hairs on the leaf blade are different from the choices given

  Leaf blade length

  70–120 mm

  Leaf blade scales

  there are no scales on the leaf blades

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is orbicular (roughly circular, as wide as long)
  • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)

  Leaf blade texture

  the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)

  Leaf blade translucent dots

  there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade

  Leaf blade vein pattern

  the main veins of the leaf blade are palmate (radiate out from the base, like a hand)

  Leaf blade width

  60–150 mm

  Leaf duration

  the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)

  Leaf form

  the plant is broad-leaved (with broadly flattened leaf blades)

  Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)

  NA

  Leaf midrib glands

  the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface

  Leaf stalk

  the leaves have leaf stalks

  Leaf stalk nectaries

  there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk

  Leaf teeth

  the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)

  Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)

  NA

  Leaf type

  the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

  Leaves per node

  there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Specific leaf type

  the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  Stipules

  the plant has stipules

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Massachusetts

  Specific habitat

  • edges of forests
  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • ridges or ledges
  • woodlands

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Aerial roots

  the plant has no aerial roots

  Bark texture

  • the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
  • the bark of an adult plant peels off easily or hangs off

  Branch brittleness (willows only)

  NA

  Branch cross-section

  the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles

  First-year cane (Rubus)

  NA

  Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)

  NA

  Twig winter color

  • black
  • brown
  • red

  Wings on branch

  the branch does not have wings on it

  armature on plant

  the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns

Wetland status

Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACU)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae