Cercis chinensis

Chinese Redbud
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Phylum:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
(unranked):	eurosids I
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Genus:	Cercis
Species:	C. chinensis
Binomial name
Cercis chinensis Bunge
C. c. f. chinensis C. c. f. pubescens
Synonyms
Cercis chinensis Bunge f. alba Hsu Cercis chinensis Bunge f. pubescens Wei Cercis chinensis Bunge f. rosea Hsu

The Chinese Redbud (simplified Chinese: 紫荆; traditional Chinese: 紫荊; pinyin: Zĭjīng) is a plant of the Fabaceae family^[1] native to China and Japan^[2] that grows between 150 to 1,400 metres (490 to 4,600 ft) above sea level.

Description

Cercis Chinensis flowers

As a tree, the Chinese Redbud may grow up to 15 metres (49 ft) tall with a trunk diameter of up to 50 centimetres (20 in), however, the species is normally found growing in shrub form. The flowers area pink or milky white in color whilst the leaf body is almost circular in shape, 6 to 14 centimetres (2.4 to 5.5 in) in length and tapers to a point at the end. Flowering ib April, the Chinese Redbud produces fruit in October.

Some people mistakenly call the Hong Kong Orchid (Bauhinia blakeana) "Chinese rosebud" but they are different species and not from the same genus. However, since the Chinese name for Bauhinia blakeana (洋紫荆) translates literally as "Foreign Chinese Redbud", the characters "紫荆" continue to be used to refer to the species by official Chinese sources.^{[citation needed]}

List of cultivars

• C. chinensis "Don Egolf"^[3]
• C. chinensis "Avondale"

References

1. ^ "The Plant List (2010) Cercis Chinensis Bunge". 2010. http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/ild-32953. Retrieved February 26, 2011. 
2. ^ "Chinese Redbud". http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Fabaceae/Cercis_chinensis.html. Retrieved February 26,2011. 
3. ^ "Cercis chinensis "Don Egolf"". U.S. National Arboretum. 2001. http://www.usna.usda.gov/Newintro/DonEgolf.pdf. Retrieved February 26, 2011.