Cercis canadensis subsp. canadensis
Shrubs or trees. Twigs glabrous. Leaves: petiole 19–50 mm, glabrous, or with sparse, pilose hairs distally; blade dull green abaxially, usually darker green adaxially, membranous to subcoriaceous, thin (0.05–0.25 mm), blades suborbiculate to reniform, 47–110 × 56–116 mm, base cordate or nearly truncate, margins flat, apex acuminate or obtuse, surfaces glabrous or hairy abaxially (hairs sometimes restricted to veins or vein axils), glabrous adaxially. Pedicels glabrous. Flowers: calyx 5–6.8 mm wide; banner 4.7–6.5 ×3.3–5.8 mm, wings 4.5–6.7 × 3.3–4.8 mm, keel 6.5–8.2 × 4.7–7 mm. Legumes dull brown, 50–109 × 9–19 mm, mostly glabrous. 2n = 14.
Phenology: Flowering Mar–May.
Habitat: Forests, forest edges.
Elevation: 0–1000 m.
Distribution
Ont., Ala., Ark., Conn., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Md., Mass., Mich., Miss., Mo., Nebr., N.J., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va., W.Va., Wis., Mexico (Nuevo León, Tamaulipas).
Discussion
The only presumed native Canadian record of subsp. canadensis is from 1892 on Pelee Island, Ontario, where it was collected by John Macoun and has not been seen since; it occasionally escapes from cultivation in southern Ontario (G. E. Waldron 2003). Reports from Utah are based on casual escapes from cultivation (S. L. Welsh et al. 2008).
Siliquastrum cordatum Moench is an illegitimate, superfluous name that pertains here.
Selected References
None.