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Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge Parkway - Eastern Redbud
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General Description
Small tree, with a sturdy upright trunk which divides into stout branches that usually spread to form a broad flat head. Found on rich bottom lands throughout the Mississippi valley; will grow in the shade and often becomes a dense undergrowth in the forest. Very abundant in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and eastern Texas. Hardy far north; grows rapidly; is a satisfactory ornamental tree. Many trees are sterile and produce no fruit.
- Bark: Red brown, with deep fissures and scaly surface. Branchlets at first lustrous brown, later become darker.
- Wood: Dark reddish brown; heavy, hard, coarse-grained, not strong. Sp. gr., 0.6363; weight of cu. ft. 39.65 lbs.
- Winter buds: Chestnut brown, obtuse, one-eighth inch long.
- Leaves: Alternate, simple, heart-shaped or broadly ovate, two to five inches long, five to seven-nerved, chordate or truncate at the base, entire, acute. They come out of the bud folded along the line of the midrib, tawny green, when full grown become smooth, dark green above, paler beneath. In autumn they turn bright clear yellow. Petioles slender, terete, enlarged at the base. Stipules caducous.
- Flowers: April, May, before and with the leaves, papilionaceous. Perfect, rose color, borne four to eight together, in fasciles which appear at the axils of the leaves or along the branch and sometimes on the trunk itself.
- Calyx: Dark red, campanulate, oblique, five-toothed, imbricate in bud.
- Corolla: Papilionaceous, petals five, nearly equal, pink or rose color, upper petal the smallest, enclosed in the bud by the wings, and encircled by the broader keel petals.
- Stamens: Ten, inserted in two rows on a thin disk, free, the inner row rather shorter than the others.
- Pistil: Ovary superior, inserted obliquely in the bottom of the calyx tube, stipitate; style fleshy, incurved, tipped with an obtuse stigma.
- Fruit: Legume, slightly stipitate, unequally oblong, acute at each end. Compressed, tipped with the remnants of the style, straight on upper and curved on the lower edge. Two and a half to three inches long, rose color, full grown by midsummer, falls in early winter. Seeds ten to twelve, chestnut brown, one-fourth of an inch long -can be made to germinate by first dipping in boiled (99C) water (very hot) for a minute and then sowing in a pot (don't boil the seeds); cotyledons oval, flat.
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Uses
In some parts of southern Appalachia, green twigs from the Eastern redbud are used as seasoning for wild game such as venison and opossum. Because of this, in these mountain areas the Eastern redbud is sometimes known as the spicewood tree.
In the wild, Eastern redbud is a frequent native understory tree in mixed forests and hedgerows. It is also much planted as a landscape ornamental plant.
The bark of young shoots is used in basket making
Flowers - raw or pickled. A nice refreshing acid taste, the flowers are rich in vitamin C and make a pleasant addition to salads. They can also be used as a condiment. The unopened buds are pickled or used as a caper substitute.
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