Cercis canadensis, L.

Form.—Height 15-25 feet, diameter 6-10 inches; trunk usually inclined and short; crown broad, open and shallow.

Leaves.—Alternate, simple, rounded, 3-5 inches long, with heart-shaped base, and blunt apex; smooth, entire, bright pale green above, paler beneath.

Flowers.—April, before the leaves; perfect; in form like the sweet pea, red-purple, arranged in umbel-like clusters along the branches of the last or preceding years.

Fruit.—A flattened, many-seeded pod, the upper suture with a winged margin.

Bark.—Thin, with shallow fissures and scaly reddish brown ridges.

Wood.—Heavy, hard, not strong, reddish brown with thick whitish sapwood.

Range.—Ontario to Florida, west to Minnesota and Kansas.

Distribution in West Virginia.—Common in most parts of the State, forming thickets along borders of woods and streams. Rare in the higher counties.

Habitat.—Rich moist soil of abandoned fields, open woods and stream banks.

Notes.—This tree is chiefly ornamental. Its profuse purplish flowers give it attractiveness early in the spring, when the Service and Flowering Dogwood are in bloom.