Range: New Jersey across to Illinois and Kansas, south to Oklahoma, Louisiana, and northern Florida.
Distinguishing Features: This small tree is extremely variable in that its leaves may or may not have teeth, they may or may not be hairy, and they may or may not be leathery. It differs from the Sugarberry primarily by its broader leaves and from the Common Hackberry by its smaller fruits and usually less-toothed leaves.
REDBUD
Cercis canadensis L.
Growth Form: Small tree to 35 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 1 foot; crown usually broad and flattened.
Bark: Reddish-brown, separating into long plates and thin scales.
Twigs: Slender, zigzag, smooth, angular, brown; leaf scars alternate, somewhat elevated, triangular, hairy across the top, with 3 bundle traces.
Buds: Small, rounded, chestnut-brown, smooth or nearly so.
Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades heart-shaped, contracted to a short point at the tip, up to 6 inches long and nearly as broad, smooth on the upper surface, smooth or with some hairs on the lower surface, without teeth along the edges; leafstalks slender, up to 5 inches long, usually smooth.
Flowers: In small clusters on last year’s branches or on the trunks, rose-purple, each pea-shaped, about ½ inch long, appearing when the leaves are first beginning to unfold.