American Redbud Tree on the Tree Guide at arborday.org

Native to North America and Canada with cousins in Europe and Asia, this tree was noted by Spaniards who made distinctions between the New World species and their cousins in the Mediterranean region in 1571. Centuries later, George Washington reported in his diary on many occasions about the beauty of the tree and spent many hours in his garden transplanting seedlings obtained from the nearby forest.

It was chosen as the state tree of Oklahoma in 1937.