Earth and Space News: early spring flowering trees

Showing posts with label early spring flowering trees. Show all posts

Monday, May 4, 2015

Cercis canadensis: Pleasing Year Round Palette of Eastern Redbud

Summary: Cercis canadensis is a New World tree native to central and eastern North America. Eastern Redbud has the greatest range of New World redbuds.

Eastern Redbud in flower, mid-March, Duke Forest Korstian Division, Durham, north central North Carolina; Friday, March 16, 2012, 11:57: Jane Shelby Richardson at Duke University (Dcrjsr), CC BY 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Cercis canadensis is a New World native in the popular, global genus of redbud trees. Cercis canadensis claims native homelands in central and eastern North America.

The resplendent spring bloomer is native to the province of Ontario in east central Canada.

A disjunct, or separate, population, ranges from Texas’ southwestern borders into northeastern Mexico.

In the United States, Cercis canadensis is native to 31 states in the Lower 48: one southwestern state (New Mexico); four Great Plains states (Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas); eight Midwestern states (Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin); two South Central states (Kentucky, Tennessee); three Gulf Coast states: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi); and 13 East Coast states from Massachusetts to Florida.

Cercis canadensis is known commonly in English as Eastern Redbud.

Beyond its native borders, Eastern Redbud may be enjoyed via introduction or naturalization in all 48 states of the continental United States.

The popular ornamental thrives in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 4B through 9A. Eastern Redbuds withstand average annual minimum winter temperatures in ranges of minus 25 to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 31.7 to minus 28.9 degrees Celsius) to 20 to 25 degrees F (minus 6.7 to minus 3.9 degrees C).

Eastern Redbud reaches a height of 15 to 30 feet (4.5 to 9.1 meters), with an attractive spread of 15 to 25 feet (4.5 to 7.6 meters). The graceful silhouette of maturity is reminiscent of a vase, with branches angling upward and with rounded crown.

Although Eastern Redbud features close-grained, hard, heavy wood, the timber industry assigns no commercial value as a source of lumber because of deemed detractors of irregular shape and small size.

Valued by horticulturists as an ornamental, Eastern Redbuds are extensively planted in private and public landscapes.

The early spring bloomer opens flowers from March to May in a resplendent profusion of pink or reddish purple. Occasionally flowers appear as pale, almost washed out, pink or as white. Cercis canadensis 'Alba' is a cultivar, or intentionally cultivated variety, that produces showy white flowers.

During floral blooming, heart-shaped leaves appear, maturing in dark green showiness. In autumn, leaves illuminate the tree in showy yellowness.

Clusters of flat seedpods, each containing four to 10 black or brown, hard small seeds, appear first as youthful green and then mature as reddish brown.

Despite the lack of commercial appeal in the timber industry, Eastern Redbud is a giving tree, offering its pretty edibility for culinary and therapeutic uses.

Flowers, fresh in salads or fried as fritters, and roasted seeds comprise popular recipes.

Native Americans especially prize the efficacy of Eastern Redbud bark and roots as therapeutic remedies. Alabama, or Alibamu (Alabama: Albaamaha), of southeastern United States prepare an infusion of roots and inner bark for congestion and for fever. Cherokee (Cherokee: Ani-Yuⁿwiya) of southeastern United States prepare an infusion of bark for whooping cough. Lenape of Delaware River watershed prepare an infusion of bark for fever and vomiting.

Avian grazers such as Northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus), Northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) and rose-breasted grosbeaks (Pheucticus ludovicianus) join small and large mammals such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and Eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in appreciation of Eastern Redbud seeds.

Eastern carpenter bees (Xylocopa virginica) and honey bees (Apis) number among Eastern Redbud pollinators.

The Royal Horticultural Society, founded in 1804 in London, England, has recognized two cultivars of Eastern Redbud for excellence as garden plants with its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM). Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ received an Award of Garden Merit in 1993. Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ merited the award in 2012.

Since March 30, 1937, Eastern Redbud, designated as Redbud, has represented Oklahoma as the Sooner State's official tree.

Apart from ventures abroad, I have always lived in proximity to Eastern Redbud trees.

Their year-round beauty is a constant source of appreciation, grace and learning.

showy white flowers of Cercis canadensis 'Alba' along Olden Avenue, Ewing, west central New Jersey; Saturday, May 4, 2013, 16:42: Famartin, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

showy white flowers of Cercis canadensis 'Alba' along Olden Avenue, Ewing, west central New Jersey; Saturday, May 4, 2013, 16:42: Famartin, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2013-05-04_16_42_37_Cercis_canadensis_'Alba'_along_Olden_Avenue_in_Ewing_New_Jersey.jpg

For further information:

Brakie, Melinda. "Plant fact sheet for eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis)." USDA Plants Database. USDA-Nacogdoches TX: Natural Resources Conservation Service, East Texas Plant Materials Center, 2010.
Available @ http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_ceca4.pdf

"Cercis canadensis." US Forest Service > Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) Database > Plants > Trees.
Available @ http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/cercan/all.html

Dickson, James G. "Cercis canadensis L. Eastern Redbud." Silvics of North America. Volume 2: Hardwoods. Agriculture Handbook 654. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture/Forest Service, 1990.
Available @ http://na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/cercis/canadensis.htm

Gilman, Edward F., and Dennis G. Watson. "Cercis canadensis: Eastern Redbud." Fact Sheet ENH304. November 1993; reviewed February 2014. University of Florida IFAS Extension > Redbud > Southern Trees Fact Sheets > Leguminosae (Fabaceae)(taxonomic family).
Available @ http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/st145

Immel, Diana L. "Eastern Redbud Cercis canadensis." Plant Guide. Last edited: 01jun06.
Available @ http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_ceca4.pdf

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cercis mexicana: Purple Pink Spring Flowers of Mexican Redbud." Earth and Space News. Tuesday, April 28, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/04/cercis-mexicana-purple-pink-spring.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cercis occidentalis: Magenta Spring of California or Western Redbud." Earth and Space News. Saturday, May 2, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/05/cercis-occidentalis-magenta-spring-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cercis siliquastrum: Deep Pink Spring Flowers of Judas or Judea Tree." Earth and Space News. Monday, April 27, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/04/cercis-siliquastrum-deep-pink-spring.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cercis reniformis Oklahoma: Magenta Spring Flowers of Oklahoma Redbud." Earth and Space News. Friday, May 1, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/05/cercis-reniformis-oklahoma-magenta.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cercis texensis: Showy Pink to Purple Red Flowers of Texas Redbud." Earth and Space News. Thursday, April 30, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/04/cercis-texensis-showy-pink-to-purple.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Eastern Redbud: Spring's Early Pleasing Pastel of Magenta Pink." Wizzley > Plants & Gardening > Plants > Trees.
Available @ https://wizzley.com/eastern-redbud-cercis-canadensis/

Moerman, Dan. “Cercis canadensis.” University of Michigan-Dearborn / Native American Ethnobotany.
Available @ http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Cercis occidentalis: Magenta Spring of California or Western Redbud

Summary: Cercis occidentalis is a New World tree native to American Southwest. Western Redbud dazzles with magenta spring flowers and fall's yellow, then red leaves.

closeup of Cercis occidentalis flowers in Red Rock Canyon, Spring Mountains, southern Nevada; April 2004: Stan Shebs, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Cercis occidentalis is a New World deciduous tree native to the southwestern corner of the United States. Cercis occidentalis claims native homelands in four southwestern states: Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah.

Preferred native habitats feature elevations up to 4,000 feet (1,219 meters). Cercis occidentalis favors harsh environments, such as canyons, steep slopes and ephemeral stream beds. Cercis occidentalis thrives in gravelly, rocky and well-drained soils.

Scientific synonyms include Cercis canadensis var. orbiculata and Cercis occidentalis var. orbiculata.

Cercis occidentalis is known commonly in English as California Redbud or Western Redbud.

Cercis occidentalis (pronunciation: SER-sis ock-sih-den-TAY-liss) adapts to landscapes beyond the borders of native homelands.

In the continental, or Lower 48, United States, Western Redbud thrives in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 6A to 9B, surviving average annual minimum winter temperature ranges of minus 10 to minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23.3 to minus 20.6 degrees Celsius) to 25 to 30 degrees F (minus 3.9 to minus 1.1 degrees C).

Cercis occidentalis succeeds as an introduced or naturalized tree in 37 of the Lower 48 states. Eleven northern states serve as unfavorable locales: Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Western Redbuds range in height from 7 feet (2-plus meters) to over 20 feet (6-plus meters). With a spread of 15 to 25 feet (4.5 to 7.62 meters), they present graceful vase-like silhouettes.

Sweetpea (Lathyrus odoratus)-like flowers colorfully celebrate spring from February through April, appearing before leaves. Five petals dazzle in colors from magenta pink to reddish purple and attract New World pollinators such as bumble bees (Bombus spp.) and orchard mason bees (Osmia lignaria).

Shiny, thick leaves present heart-shaped, reniform (Latin: ren, “kidney” + formis, “having the form of”), or rounded, silhouettes. As deciduous (Latin: deciduus, “that which falls off”) trees, Western Redbuds forego spring and summer greenness for autumnal glory, first as yellow and then as brown and red.

Seedpods, which average seven, bean-like hard seeds, ripen first as purple and then turn russet-brown, persisting into winter.

Native Americans of the American Southwest especially value Western Redbud for wine-red young branches and twigs that contribute vividness to basket designs.

Because of Western Redbud’s penchant for vigorous resprouting after fires, prior to Euro-American settlement of California, Native Americans routinely burned hillsides after autumnal leaf shedding to encourage sprouting of straight, young shoots prized in basketry.

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

closeup of Cercis occidentalis flowers in Red Rock Canyon, Spring Mountains, southern Nevada; April 2004: Stan Shebs, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cercis_occidentalis_branch.jpg

Cercis occidentalis in the south fork of Pine Creek Canyon, Red Rock Canyon, Spring Mountains, southern Nevada; Saturday, March 24, 2007, 12:39: Stan Shebs, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cercis_occidentalis_1.jpg

For further information:

Anderson, M. Kat. "California Redbud: Cercis orbiculata Greene." Plant Fact Sheet. Last edited 01jun06. USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center.
Available @ http://www.plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_ceor9.pdf

Anderson, M. Kat. "California Redbud: Cercis orbiculata Greene." Plant Guide. Last edited 01jun06. USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center.
Available @ http://www.plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_ceor9.pdf

Gilman, Edward F., and Dennis G. Watson. "Cercis occidentalis: Western Redbud. Fact Sheet ENH311. November 1993; reviewed May 2014. University of Florida IFAS Extension > Redbud > Southern Trees Fact Sheets > Leguminosae (Fabaceae)(taxonomic family).
Available @ https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/st152

"Taxon: Cercis occidentalis Torr. ex A. Gray." USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
Available @ http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?9946

Friday, May 1, 2015

Cercis reniformis Oklahoma: Magenta Spring Flowers of Oklahoma Redbud

Summary: Cercis reniformis is a New World tree native to Oklahoma and Texas. Known as Oklahoma Redbud, the early spring bloomer produces profuse magenta flowers.

closeup of magenta spring flowers of Cercis reniformis; Saturday, April 18, 2009, 17:10:31: woodleywonderworks, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Cercis is a global genus, known commonly as redbuds, comprising 10 to 13 species. Eight species are native to the Old World.

Varying in number according to designations as species or subspecies, New World native redbuds tally at two species (Cercis canadensis, Cercis occidentalis) with three subspecies or at five species.

Cercis canadensis, the most widespread species, is known commonly as Eastern Redbud.

Cercis mexicana, known commonly as Mexican Redbud, is native to southwestern Texas and northeastern to north central Mexico.

Cercis occidentalis, known as California, or Western, Redbud, is native to Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah in the American Southwest.

Cercis reniformis, known as Oklahoma Redbud, is native to Oklahoma and to Texas east of the Pecos River.

Cercis texensis, known commonly as Texas Redbud, is native to Oklahoma and Texas.

Overlapping territories contribute to confusion in designating redbuds as subspecies or as synonyms. Cercis reniformis and Cercis texensis often have been treated as synonymous scientific names.

Among the plant registrations included in the issue of Arnoldia published by Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum for April 29, 1966, is a listing for Cercis reniformis 'Oklahoma.'

In spring 1964, Thomas Otis Warren (July 8, 1888-December 1968) and his son, Charles Preston Warren (May 23, 1932-Aug. 18, 2003), discovered a wild redbud of unknown parentage in the ancient Arbuckle Mountains of south central Oklahoma. The father-son discovery is thought to be a natural hybrid between Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) and Cercis reniformis, often considered a synonym for Texas Redbud, Cercis texensis.

As founders of Warren & Son Nursery in Nicoma Park in the eastern Oklahoma City metropolitan area of central Oklahoma, Otis and Preston developed the tree's seedlings, which Otis registered Nov. 12, 1964, as Cercis reniformis 'Oklahoma.' Warren & Son Nursery introduced their discovery, known commonly as Oklahoma Redbud, in 1965.

Oklahoma Redbud distinguishes itself with showy flowers which open in dramatic, festive shades of magenta or wine red pinkness.

Thick leaves are closely spaced and shine as glossy, dark green heart or reniform (Latin: ren, “kidney” + formis, “having the form of”) shapes until flashing brilliantly as yellow in autumn.

Purple seedpods steadfastly cling to branches into winter.

In designating the state tree on March 30, 1937, Oklahoma's statutes avoid clamor over changing scientific names by use of the common name of redbud for the Cercis genus.

Title 2 Oklahoma Statutes: Section 16-69. (State Tree -- Redbud) states:
"The redbud tree shall be adopted and the same be made the official tree of this state."

Cercis reniformis acclimates to coastal and southern ecosystems outside of the grassy flatness of the Great Plains, forested mountains of the U.S. Interior Highlands and proclivity for severe weather that characterize Oklahoma.

Found in then-designated USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6 in 1966, Oklahoma Redbud tolerates Zones 6b to 9a, with average annual minimum winter temperatures ranging from minus 5 to 0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 20.6 to minus 17.8 degrees Celsius) to 20 to 25 degrees F (minus 6.7 to minus 3.9 degrees C).

Comfort ranges for Oklahoma Redbud as an introduced or naturalized ornamental encompass 36 of the Lower 48 states. Excluded from Oklahoma Redbud's introduced or naturalized range are twelve northernmost locales: Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Cercis texensis vivifies landscape at Claude Chana Gold PannerMonument, Old Town Auburn, Placer County, northeastern California; on Tuesday, May 16, 1848, prospector Chana (1811-May 24, 1882) discovered gold in Auburn Ravine; sculpture by Auburn dentist Kenneth Fox (1925-2020); Saturday, March 21, 2015, 13:14:55: cultivar413, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

closeup of magenta spring flowers of Cercis reniformis; Saturday, April 18, 2009, 17:10:31: woodleywonderworks, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/3453948807/; woodleywonderworks, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cercis_canadensis_var._texensis_(3453948807).jpg

Cercis texensis 'Oklahoma' vivifies landscape at Claude Chana Gold Panner Monument, Old Town Auburn, Auburn, Placer County, northeastern California; on Tuesday, May 16, 1848, prospector Chana (1811-May 24, 1882) discovered gold in Auburn Ravine; sculpture by Auburn dentist Kenneth Fox (1925-2020); Saturday, March 21, 2015, 13:14:55: cultivar413, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/131880272@N06/16999606049/; K M, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, @ https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/cercis-canadensis-var-texensis-oklahoma/

For further information:

Gilman, Edward F., and Dennis G. Watson. "Cercis reniformis 'Oklahoma': Oklahoma Redbud." Fact Sheet ENH312. November 1993; reviewed May 2014. University of Florida IFAS Extension > Redbud > Southern Trees Fact Sheets > Leguminosae (Fabaceae)(taxonomic family).
Available @ http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/st153

Nordine, Ray. "New Plan Session." Proceedings of the International Plant Propagator's Society, vol. 16 (1966): 291-293.

The Oklahoma Forestry Code: Title 2, Article 16 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Oklahoma City OK: Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry - Forestry Services Division, July 1, 2007.
Available @ http://www.forestry.ok.gov/Websites/forestry/Images/code,%202007.pdf

Wyman, Donald. "International Plant Registration." Arnoldia, vol. 23, No. 5 (May 31, 1963): 85-92.
Available @ http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/1963-23--inernational-plant-registration.pdf

Wyman, Donald. "More Plant Registrations." Arnoldia, vol. 26, No. 3 (April 29, 1966): 13-16.
Available @ http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/1966-26--more-plant-registrations.pdf

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Cercis texensis: Showy Pink to Purple Red Flowers of Texas Redbud

Summary: Cercis texensis is a New World tree native to Oklahoma and Texas. Texas Redbud upholds the redbud tradition of early spring profusion of showy pink flowers.

Texas Redbud, Government Canyon State Natural Area, Bexar County, south central Texas; Monday, March 12, 2012: sfbaywalk, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Cercis texensis (pronounced as SER-sis kan-uh-DEN-sis variety teck-SEN-sis) is a New World tree native to two states in the south central United States. Cercis texensis claims homelands in Oklahoma and in Texas.

Texas Redbud exemplifies the dynamic flux of botanical nomenclature via its classification as a species or a subspecies.

As a species, its scientific name is Cercis texensis, which identifies it as a distinct species in the global genus of redbud trees, Cercis.

As a subspecies, its scientific name is Cercis canadensis var. texensis, or Cercis canadensis texensis, which identifies its relationship as a geographic variety of Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis).

Cercis texensis is known commonly in English as Texas Redbud.

Cercis reniformis has been considered as a synonym for Cercis texensis. The common name of Oklahoma Redbud reflects the appearance of Cercis reniformis in the Sooner State.

Texas Redbud accepts the variety of habitats that characterize their extensive homelands in Oklahoma and Texas. In addition to tolerance of cold, drought and heat, Texas Redbud also accepts a range of soil characteristics, from well-drained to calcareous, clay, rocky and sandy.

Texas Redbud may be enjoyed outside of its native range. Cercis texensis easily adapts to USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 5A through 9A, with average annual minimum temperatures ranging from minus 20 to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 28.8 to 26.1 degrees Celsius) to 20 to 25 degrees F (minus 6.7 to minus 3.9 degrees C). Texas Redbud thrives as an introduced or naturalized tree throughout the continental, or Lower 48, United States, with the exception of Minnesota and North Dakota.

Texas Redbud attains a maximum height of around 25 to 30 feet (7.62 to 9.1 meters) and a maximum spread of 15 to 25 feet (4.5 to 7.62 meters).

Propensities as a redbud for low branches and multi-trunks contribute to natural gracefulness of Cercis texensis. As with other redbuds, Cercis texensis traces the silhouette of a globe or of a vase.

Flowers eagerly precede foliage to open as early spring bloomers in February. Showy reddish pink to rose purple flowers profusely bloom on branches and along the trunk.

Leaves emerge in shiny, dark greenness amidst flower blossoms. Tips are blunt or rounded on thick, heart-like or reniform (Latin: ren, “kidney” + formis, “having the form of”) shaped foliage. In autumn, leaves turn appealingly into golden colors of yellow or greenish yellow.

Seeds are encased in showy purple seedpods.

Texas Redbud has an ample ethnobotany. Native Americans of California's Central Valley, such as the Nisenan, and of northern California, such as Maidu, Mewuk and Pomo, use bark and wood for baskety. Native Americans in north coastal California's Mendocino County, such as the Pomo and the Yuki, incorporate the bark into a remedy for chills and fever.

The Havasupai (Havasupai: Havsuw’ Baaja) of the Grand Canyon make bows, fence posts and tool handles from the tree’s wood.

The Navajo (Navajo: Diné or Naabeehó) of the southwestern United States feature leaves as incense in their Mountain Chant and also favor roasted seeds in their cuisine.

Texas Redbud exudes a natural grace that is apparent not only in cultivated landscapes but also in wild areas.

Symmetrical placements along driveways and entry walks as well as groved or solitary designs and wild appearances showcase the pleasing palette and welcoming elegance of Cercis texensis.

Cercis reniformis varieties are appreciated outside of Oklahoma and Texas; Cercis reniformis 'Traveller' (Cercis canadensis subsp. texensis 'Traveller') grows as a dwarf, weeping redbud with nativity in northern Mexico and in the United States in Oklahoma and Texas; the dwarf, weeping redbud was discovered as "a seedling in a row of trees in Madrone Nursery, San Marcos, Texas," according to North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox; "rounded, weeping form" of Cercis canadensis var. texensis 'Traveller', JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh, North Carolina: JC Raulston Arboretum, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Texas Redbud, Government Canyon State Natural Area, Bexar County, south central Texas; Monday, March 12, 2012: sfbaywalk, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/sfbaywalk/6834266464

Gilman, Edward F., and Edward G. Watson. "Cercis canadensis var. texensis: Texas Redbud." Fact Sheet ENH309. November 1993; reviewed May 2014. University of Florida IFAS Extension > Redbud > Southern Trees Fact Sheets > Leguminosae (Fabaceae)(taxonomic family).
Available @ http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/st150

"Gold Miner - Ken Fox Statue." Roadside America.
Available @ http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/14434

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Cercis mexicana: Purple Pink Spring Flowers of Mexican Redbud

Summary: Cercis mexicana is a New World deciduous tree native to the Trans Pecos region of Texas and northeastern Mexico. Mexican Redbud produces showy pink flowers.

Mexican Redbud, Demonstration Garden, Superior, Pinal County, south central Arizona; Friday, March 7, 2014, 14:13:41: William Herron, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Cercis mexicana (pronounced as SER-sis meck-sih-KAY-nuh) is a perennial New World deciduous tree native to south central North America.

In the United States, Cercis mexicana is native to southwestern Texas, from Crockett and Val Verde counties westward across the Pecos River into the nine counties of the Trans-Pecos region, also known as Far West Texas: Brewster, Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves and Terrell.

Cercis mexicana’s furthest southern range extends into eight states in Northeastern and North Central Mexico. Cercis mexicana is native to three states in northeastern Mexico: Coahuila, Nuevo Léon, Tamaulipas. Cercis mexicana has homelands in two states in north central Mexico: Querétaro, San Luis Potosí. Cercis mexicana is native to three states in east central Mexico: Hidalgo, Puebla, Veracruz.

Cercis mexicana is known commonly in English as Mexican Redbud.

As a dynamic discipline, the science of botany reviews and expands knowledge and understanding of the world's flora, or plant life. Reflective of ongoing botanical analyses, Mexican Redbud is classed either as a species or as a subspecies.

As a species, its scientific name is Cercis mexicana.

As a subspecies, its scientific name is Cercis canadensis var. mexicana to reflect its relationship as a geographic variety of Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis).

Thriving in hilly and mountainous habitats, Mexican Redbud is undaunted by the challenges of calcareous and rocky soils. As a native of the Chihuahuan Desert that monopolizes the Trans Pecos, stretches southward into Mexico across western and southeastern Coahuila, and slivers into northwestern Nuevo Léon, Mexican Redbud is tolerant of drought, heat and sandy soils.

Mexican Redbud easily adapts to USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 6B to 8B, encompassing average annual minimum temperatures ranging from minus 5 to 0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 20.6 to minus 17.8 degrees Celsius) in Zone 6B to 15 to 20 degrees F (minus 9.4 to minus 6.7 degrees C) in Zone 8B.

In the United States, planting Cercis mexicana as an introduced tree may be expanded beyond the tree's native range to claim coast-to-coast homelands in southern states as well as farther north on the west coast into the Pacific Northwestern states of Oregon and Washington on the west coast and on the east coast as far as Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

Mexican Redbud attains an equi-proportionate, maximum height and spread of 18 to 25 feet (5.4 to 7.2 meters). Its graceful silhouette traces globe, or rounded, shapes as well as vase shapes with branches angling sharply upward from the trunk and flaring outwardly at tips.

Flowers emerge prior to leaves as early spring harbingers in February. Showy purple-pink flowers profusely decorate the multi-trunked, low-branched tree.

Amidst the floral pastel palette, cordate (Latin: cor, “heart”), or heart-shaped, leaves unfurl as silvery green with undulate (Latin: undula, “small wave,” diminutive of unda, “wave”), or wave-like, edges and blunt tips. Leaves turn to showy yellow for their autumnal coloring.

Green seedpods ripen into brown or reddish purple.

As a species in Cercis, the global genus of redbud trees, Mexican Redbud serves as a host plant for Henry’s Elfin (Callophrys henrici) butterfly. Also known as Woodland Elfin, the North American native favors Mexican Redbuds as arboreal sites in the Trans Pecos for laying eggs and as the food source for emerging caterpillars.

As with all redbuds, Cercis mexicana produces edible flowers, foliage and seedpods.

The vibrant cuisine of northern Mexico features fried flowers and seedpods.

Mexican Redbud upholds the redbud tradition of attractiveness both in the wild and in cultivation. Its coloring, ethnobotany and silhouette endear it to human landscapes and attract wildlife.

In Far West Texas, also known as Trans Pecos, Mexican Redbud is the favorite hostplant for Henry's Elfin butterfly (Callophrys henrici): Megan McCarty, CC BY 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Mexican Redbud, Demonstration Garden, Superior, Pinal County, south central Arizona; Friday, March 7, 2014, 14:13:41: William Herron, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/wdherron/13433154914/

In Far West Texas, also known as Trans Pecos, Mexican Redbud is the favorite hostplant for Henry's Elfin butterfly (Callophrys henrici): Megan McCarty, CC BY 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry%27s_Elfin,_Megan_McCarty98.jpg

For further information:

Gilman, Edward F., and Dennis G. Watson. "Cercis mexicana: Mexican Redbud." Fact Sheet ENH310. November 1993; reviewed May 2014. University of Florida IFAS Extension > Redbud > Southern Trees Fact Sheets > Leguminosae (Fabaceae)(taxonomic family).
Available @ http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/st151

Monday, April 27, 2015

Cercis siliquastrum: Deep Pink Spring Flowers of Judas or Judea Tree

Summary: Cercis siliquastrum is a small Old World tree native to southern Europe and western Asia. The Judas Tree is noted for deep pink flowers in spring.

Cauliflorous blossoms prettify long trunk of Cercis siliquastrum, Chesterton Road, Cambridge, South East England (tree unfortunately destroyed in car accident in 2006): Andrew Dunn, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

Cercis siliquastrum is a small Old World deciduous tree with nativity in southern Europe and western Asia.

Cercis siliquastrum especially favors the Mediterranean region, with homelands in Asia Minor, southern France, Greece, the Iberian Peninsula, Israel and Italy.

Cercis siliquastrum is known commonly in English as the Judas Tree. According to popular tradition, Judas Iscariot hanged himself from the small deciduous tree after his betrayal of Jesus.

The common name may also derive from Judea's Tree as a reflection of the tree's thriving ubiquity in the historical region of Judea, the mountainous southern region of the Holy Land.

Cercis siliquastrum presents a lively silhouette in the landscape, with a maximum height of around 39 feet (12 meters) and a spread of around 32 feet (10 meters). The trunk features grey bark characterized by a cracked, scabrous (Latin: scaber, "rough, scaly") maze.

Flowers open early in spring as profusely blooming racemes (Latin: racemus, “cluster of grapes”) of deep pink.

Consistent with the trademark floral shape of the Fabaceae family, Cercis siliquastrum displays a floral shape of five fused sepals with five free petals. Blossoms also sprout vividly as cauliflorous (Latin: caulis, "stalk, stem"; cognate with Ancient Greek καυλός, kaulós, “stem” + Latin: flos, "flower") flowers in stunning growths along the trunk and on branches.

As with other species in the redbud genus of Cercis, leaves emerge during -- not before -- early floral blossoming. Heart-shaped, with rounded tips, leaves offer a verdant palette of bright greenness.

Flat, long seedpods hang down in youthful greenness, signaling ripeness by browning.

closeup of Cercis siliquastrum flowers; Saturday, April 18, 2009, 21:00: Sballal, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

As a species in the edible Cercis genus, Judea's redbud offers palatability of its flowers, leaves and seedpods.

Especially favored are the tree's pretty pink flowers, which contribute color and bitter sweetness to salads. Flower buds are pickled for enjoyment as a piquant condiment.

As a member of the pea family of Fabaceae, Cercis siliquastrum contributes to soil enrichment via nitrogen fixation, a desirable process beneficial in agriculture and in horticulture. Rhizobia (Ancient Greek: ῥίζα, rhíza, "root" + βίος, bios, "life"), nitrogen-fixer bacteria, form symbiotic nodules in the tree's root system for converting atmospheric nitrogen into nitrogen compounds essential for plant growth.

The pretty pastel of the flowers is abuzz with pollinators such as bees and sunbirds. Comprising the passerine family of Nectariniidae, sunbirds are distant relatives of America's hummingbirds (Trochilidae family) and of Oceania's honeyeaters (Meliphagidae family).

In the eastern Mediterranean, especially in northern Israel, Cercis siliquastrum associates abundantly with familiar arboreal flora: terebinth (Pistacia palaestina), a deciduous shrub with shiny red flowers; common Israeli, or Palestinian, oak (Quercus calliprinos), an evergreen with dark green foliage; Tabor, or valonia, oak (Quercus ithaburensis), deciduous tree with seeds roasted as coffee substitute; and storax (Styrax officinalis), a deciduous shrub renowned anciently for incense from its resin, styrax.

The Royal Horticultural Society, based in London, England, since its founding in 1804, recognized Cercis siliquastrum for excellence in gardens by bestowing its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM) in 2012.

Judea's tree upholds the tradition of the small Cercis genus as pleasing spring florals.

flowering Judas Tree, Golan Heights; Saturday, March 19, 2005, 09:21: Orna Lotan, CC BY 2.5 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Cauliflorous blossoms prettify long trunk of Cercis siliquastrum, Chesterton Road, Cambridge, South East England; tree unfortunately destroyed in car accident in 2006: Andrew Dunn, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cercis_Siliquastrum_Trunk_and_Blossom.jpg

closeup of Cercis siliquastrum flowers; Saturday, April 18, 2009, 21:00: Sballal, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_bud_2009.jpg

flowering Judas Tree, Golan Heights; Saturday, March 19, 2005, 09:21: מאוסף התמונות של אורנה לוטן (source: orna lotan via the PikiWiki -- Israel free image collection project), CC BY 2.5 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PikiWiki_Israel_3421_Geography_of_Israel.jpg

For further information:

"Cercis siliquastrum." Plants for a Future (PFAF).
Available @ http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Cercis+siliquastrum

"Cercis siliquastrum (Judas Tree)." Natural History Museum > Nature online > Species of the day > Evolution.
Available @ http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/species-of-the-day/evolution/cercis-siliquastrum/index.html