Redbud Tree- A Sign of Spring in Texas

The tree pictured is Cercis candensis, the Eastern Redbud.
In early spring when it is still cold enough for frosts, you will find these hot pink flowers on leafless, or nearly so, shrubby, greyish, smooth-barked trees. These trees favor stream sides or wooded bottom lands and produce seed pods in the fall that are fed upon by numerous bird species. This is a woody member of the Fabaceae or pea and bean family, and it is found throughout central and eastern Texas. Redbuds stick out like sore thumbs in woodlands where everything is leafless and gray. The burst of hot pink color lets everyone know that Spring is here.