{"id":20777,"date":"2023-02-07T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=20777"},"modified":"2025-07-30T14:19:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T18:19:44","slug":"intro-to-trees-of-indiana-redbud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/intro-to-trees-of-indiana-redbud\/","title":{"rendered":"Intro to Trees of Indiana: Redbud"},"content":{"rendered":"

The classic and trusted book “Fifty Common Trees of Indiana” by T.E. Shaw was\u00a0published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species.\u00a0\u00a0Nearly 70 years later, the publication has\u00a0been updated through a joint effort by the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources,\u00a0Indiana 4-H<\/a>, and\u00a0the\u00a0Indiana Department of Natural Resources<\/a>, and reintroduced as “An Introduction to Trees of Indiana.”<\/p>\n

The\u00a0full publication<\/a>\u00a0is available for download for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.<\/p>\n

Each week, the Intro to\u00a0Trees of Indiana web\u00a0series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book, paired with an\u00a0ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester\u00a0Lenny Farlee<\/a>\u00a0to help visualize each species as it stands in the woods.\u00a0Threats to species\u00a0health\u00a0as well as\u00a0also\u00a0insight into the wood provided by the species, will be provided\u00a0through additional resources as well as the\u00a0Hardwoods of the Central Midwest<\/a> exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available. \"Drawing<\/a><\/p>\n

This week, we meet the Redbud or\u00a0Cercis canadensis<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The alternately held leaves of this small tree are heart-shaped with smooth edges and that measure three to five inches long. Leaves changes from a dark green to a yellow or yellow green in the fall. The leaves are held on twigs that grow in a zig-zag pattern. The bark on redbud is reddish brown and flaky with the older, darker bark shedding to reveal the red inner bark.<\/p>\n

The clusters of pink, lavender and even magenta flowers of this species appear in the early spring before\u00a0the leaves open. The redbud is in the broad legume family and, as such, its fruit is a small pea-pod, approximately three inches long, which is flat with a very thin skin.<\/p>\n

Redbud trees, which grow 20 to 30 feet tall, are often found along the edge of woodlands and open fields and brushy areas, but are also planted ornamentally for their beauty. This species grows best in partial sun and in moist, well-drained soils, but is tolerant of alkaline soil and clay. The natural range of the redbud is the central and eastern United States, from southern Iowa across to Pennsylvania to the north and south into northern Florida. It also extends west to Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas and east to Florida and up the Atlantic coast.<\/p>\n

The Morton Arboretum<\/a>\u00a0states that redbud is susceptible to borers, canker disease and verticillium wilt. It also suffers in full sun or extreme summer heat. It is noted that the trees have a shallow root system, which must be protected, and the tree is relatively short-lived, with only a 20 to 25 year life span.<\/p>\n