Cercis

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Cercis

Cercis, or Redbuds, is a genus of about 6-10 species in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae

Caesalpinioideae

Caesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. Its name is formed from the generic name Caesalpinia....
of the pea family Fabaceae

Fabaceae

Fabaceae or Leguminosae is a large and economically important family of flowering plants, which is commonly known as the legume family, pea family, bean family or pulse family....
, native to warm-temperate

Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally mild, rather than extreme hot or cold....
regions. They are small deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
tree

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s or large shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s, characterised by simple, rounded to heart-shaped leaves

Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
and pinkish-red flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s borne in the early spring on bare leafless shoots.

Cercis species are used as food plants by the larva

Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
species including Mouse Moth

Mouse Moth

The Mouse Moth is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a very widespread species with a Holarctic distribution.This is a rather drab but distinctive species....
(recorded on Eastern Redbud

Eastern Redbud

Cercis canadensis Carolus Linnaeus is a large shrub or small tree native to Eastern United States North America from southern Ontario, Canada south to northern Florida, United States....
).

A full list of species in the genus is:

Judas-tree (Cercis siliquastrum) is a small tree to 10-15 m tall native to the south of Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
and southwest Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, in Iberia

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small area of France....
, southern France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
and Asia Minor, which forms a handsome low tree with a flat spreading head.

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Encyclopedia

Cercis, or Redbuds, is a genus of about 6-10 species in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae

Caesalpinioideae

Fabaceae

Temperate

Deciduous

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s or large shrub

Shrub

Leaf

Flower

Larva

Lepidoptera

Mouse Moth

The Mouse Moth is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a very widespread species with a Holarctic distribution.This is a rather drab but distinctive species....
(recorded on Eastern Redbud

Eastern Redbud

Old World
Old World

The Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans, Asians, and Africans in the 15th century....
:

Cercis chinensis - Chinese Redbud (eastern Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
Cercis chuniana - Chinese Species
Cercis chingii - Ching's Redbud (China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
)
Cercis funiushanensis - Minor variation from C. glabra and C. chinensis
Cercis gigantea - Giant Redbud (China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
)
Cercis glabra
Cercis griffithii - Afghan Redbud (southern central Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
)
Cercis japonica
Cercis pubescens - Minor variation from C. glabra and C. chinensis
Cercis racemosa - Chain-flowered Redbud (western China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
)
Cercis siliquastrum
Cercis siliquastrum

Cercis siliquastrum, commonly known as Judas Tree, is a small deciduous tree from Southern Europe and Western Asia which is noted for its prolific display of deep-pink flowers in spring....
- Judas-tree or European Redbud (Mediterranean region)
Cercis yunnanensis - Yunnan Redbud (China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
)

New World
New World

The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth, specifically the Americas and Australasia. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans, who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia, and Africa ....
:

Cercis canadensis - Eastern Redbud
Eastern Redbud

Cercis canadensis Carolus Linnaeus is a large shrub or small tree native to Eastern United States North America from southern Ontario, Canada south to northern Florida, United States....
(eastern North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
)
Cercis mexicana - Mexican Redbud (Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
; often treated as a variety of C. canadensis)
Cercis occidentalis - California Redbud or Western Redbud
Cercis occidentalis

The western redbud is a small tree or shrub in the Fabaceae. It is found across the Southwestern United States, from California to Utah.The thin, shiny brown branches bear shiny heart-shaped leaves which are light green early in the season and darken as they age....
(California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
)
Cercis reniformis - Oklahoma Redbud (Oklahoma
Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a U.S. state and a sovereignty located in the South Central United States and Southern United States of the United States of America ....
; often treated as a variety of C. canadensis)
Cercis texensis - Texas Redbud (Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
; often treated as a variety of C. canadensis)

Judas-tree (Cercis siliquastrum) is a small tree to 10-15 m tall native to the south of Europe

Europe

Asia

Iberian Peninsula

France

Italy

Greece

Magenta

Magenta is a purplish pink color evoked by lights with less power in yellowish-green wavelengths than in blue and red wavelengths . In light experiments, magenta can be produced by removing the lime-green wavelengths from white light....
pink

Pink

Pink is a pale red color; the use of the word for the color was first recorded in the late 17th century, describing the flowers of Dianthus, flowering plants in the genus Dianthus. Pink itself is a combination of red and white....
flowers, which appear before the leaves. The flowers have an agreeably acidic bite, and are eaten in mixed salad

Salad

Salad is a mixture of cold or hot foods, usually including vegetables and/or fruits, often with a dressing, occasionally nuts or croutons, and sometimes with the addition of meat, fish, pasta, cheese, eggs, or whole grains....
or made into fritters. The tree was frequently figured in the 16th and 17th century herbal

Herbal

A herbal is a book, often illustrated, that describes the appearance, medicinal properties, and other characteristics of plants used in herbal medicine....
s.

This small, sparsely branched tree is said to be the one from which Judas Iscariot

Judas Iscariot

'Judas Iscariot', "Yehuda" was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve original Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Among the twelve, he was apparently designated to keep account of the "accountant" , but he is most traditionally known for his role in Jesus' betrayal into the hands of Roman authorities....
hanged himself after betraying Christ

Christ

Christ is the English language term for the Greek meaning "the anointing", which is a title given to the Reigning Messiah in the given age of the Zodiac....
, but the name may derive from "Judea's tree", after the region encompassing Israel

Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
and Palestine

Palestine

Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. It is derived from a name used already much earlier for a narrower geographical region, mainly along the coastal region....
where the tree is commonplace.

A smaller Eastern American

North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
woodland understory tree, Eastern Redbud, Cercis canadensis, is common from southernmost Canada

Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
to piedmont Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
and East Texas

East Texas

East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the United States state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County, TX southwestward to east central Limestone County, TX and then south...
. It differs from C. siliquastrum in its pointed leaves and slightly smaller size (rarely over 12 m tall). The flowers are also used in salads and for making pickled relish

Relish

A relish is a cooking pickling, chopped vegetable or fruit food item which is typically used as a condiment. The item generally consists of discernible vegetable or fruit pieces in a sauce, although the sauce is subordinate in character to the vegetable or fruit pieces....
, while the inner bark

BARK

BARK was an early Electromechanics. BARK was built using standard phone relays, implementing a 32-bit binary machine and could perform addition in 150 ms and multiplication in 250 ms....
of twig

Twig

Twigs are critically important in identification of trees, shrubs and vines, especially in wintertime. The buds on the twig are an important diagnostic characteristic, as are the abscission scars where the leaves have fallen away....
s gives a mustard-yellow

Yellow

Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, but does not significantly stimulate the S cone cells; that is, light with much red and green but not very much blue....
dye

Dye

A dye can generally be described as a colored substance that has an Chemical affinity to the Wiktionary:substrate to which it is being applied....
.

The related Western Redbud, Cercis occidentalis, ranges from California east to Utah primarily in foothill regions. Its leaves are more rounded at the tip than the relatively heart-shaped leaves of the Eastern redbud. The tree often forms multi-trunked colonies that are covered in bright pink flowers in early spring (February - March). White-flowered variants are in cultivation. It buds only once a year.

The Chain-flowered Redbud (Cercis racemosa) from western China

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
is unusual in the genus in having its flowers in pendulous 10 cm racemes, as in a Laburnum

Laburnum

Laburnum is a genus of two species of small trees in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, Laburnum anagyroides and Laburnum alpinum ....
, rather than short clusters.

Gallery

Citation

http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~ccdavis/pdfs/Davis_et_al_Syst_Bot_2002.pdf

http://www.oznet.k-state.edu/rc_hefw/05%20May%20JCPHC%20Newsletter%20legal.pdf