redbud

redbud or Judas tree, name for trees and shrubs of the genus Cercis, handsome plants of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), covered along the branches in the early spring with deep rose or (rarely) white flowers resembling pea blossoms. Species native to North America include the common redbud (C. canadensis), ranging through Mexico and the United States E of the Rockies, and the California redbud (C. occidentalis). According to tradition an Old World species was the tree on which Judas hanged himself. The bark of C. chinensis has been used in Chinese medicine as an antiseptic. The genus Cercis is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Leguminosae.

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redbud

Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis).

(credit: Kenneth and Brenda Formanek/EB Inc.)

Any of the shrubs or small trees that make up the genus Cercis (family Leguminosae), native to North America, southern Europe, and Asia, and widely planted for their showy early-spring flowers and interesting branch patterns. Clusters of small, purplish-pink flowers appear on old stems and branches before the leaves unfurl. The heart-shaped to roundish leaves quickly turn from bronzy to bright green, then to yellow in fall. The eastern redbud (C. canadensis) is the hardiest species.