Cercis chinensis
Common name: 
Chinese Redbud
Pronunciation: 
SER-sis chi-NEN-sis
Family: 
Fabaceae
Genus: 
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Deciduous shrub, multistemmed, 10 ft (3 m) tall in cultivation (to 50 ft in its native habitat), densely branched, upright habit.  Leaves alternate, simple, 5 × 12 cm, glossy, leathery, base deeply heart-shaped (cordate), margin textured (transparent line around the edge).  (Leaves similar to those of C. canadensis.)  Flowers small (1.5-2 cm), lavender to crimson, bloom in spring before leaves appear.  Fruit pod-like, about 9 cm long and 1-1.5 cm wide.
  • Sun to part shade.  Adaptable to many soil types, but avoid poorly drained areas.  Reportedly spectacular in bloom in the high deserts of southwestern U.S.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 6.  (Less hardy than C. canadensis.)    Native to central China
  • A few selections:
    • ‘Avondale’  -  has deep purple flowers and dark green leaves, popular.
    • ‘Alba’  -  has white flowers
    • ‘Don Egolf’  -  is a new release (2001) from the U.S. National Arboretum, a prolific producer of rose mauve flowers, but is fruitless, and hence not an invasive threat.
Click image to enlarge
  • plant habit, flowering

    plant habit, flowering

  • flowers on large branches

    flowers on large branches