Cercis canadensis #3 (Eastern Redbud)

Eastern Redbud is a favorite native understory tree. The branches are lined with rosy pink, pea-like flowers in April, lasting about a month. The flowers offer pollen and nectar to its insect pollinators, primarily native bees. After flowering, the soft, green, heart-shaped leaves emerge in a distinctive zigzag pattern up the branches. They turn an attractive bright yellow color in fall. This little tree offers four seasons of interest, showing off its elegant form in winter and full of dangling papery seedpods which are eaten by Northern Cardinals, Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks and Bobwhite Quail. It is a host to at least 19 species of Lepidoptera including Henry’s Elfin butterfly.

Eastern Redbuds are members of the Fabaceae (Legume) family and fix nitrogen in the soil, making it a useful and beautiful addition to shrub borders, garden settings, naturalized in the woodland and anywhere and everywhere else! It is such a well behaved, useful and ornamental tree, it is no wonder why it is universally beloved. It prefers partial shade in a moist, fertile soil but is remarkably adaptable and easy to please. Redbuds look especially stunning with an evergreen backdrop, or planted with other spring-flowering understory trees or shrubs such as Allegheny Serviceberry, Flowering Dogwood, Pagoda Dogwood, and Wild Plum.

Sources:
Native Trees, Shrubs, & Vines by William Cullina
Manual of Woody Landscape Plants by Michael A. Dirr
Midwestern Native Shrubs and Trees by Charlotte Adelman & Bernard L. Schwartz
Missouri Botanical Garden
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Illinois Wildflowers
The Morton Arboretum-Black Walnut Tolerance

Photo Credits:
Mature Flowering: Dcrjsr, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Integrated Landscape: Lambique, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons