Horticulture:This tree is ideal for woodland
planting in a naturalized setting. 
Single specimens
and group plantings create impressive spring color as the flowers are not
easily damaged by winds. Selections of this species include: a white-flowered
cultivar, 'alba'; 'Forest Pansy', with purple leaves but not hardy below
-10 F; and 'Silver Cloud', a variegated, less floriferous cultivar. The
tree is sometimes called the "Judas tree," a name more appropriate
to the species native to southern Europe and western Asia (Cercis siliquastrum).
Legend has it that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from a redbud tree causing
the tree to blush with embarrassment, turning the normally white flowers
to pink.
Pictured here are redbuds flowering along the banks of Lake LaVerne, on the ISU campus.
