Native redbud requires little care, is a good firewise choice and attracts pollinators. (Jeanette Alosi/Contributed) Redbud is seen with leaves and seed pods in mid- to late-spring. (Laura Lukes/Contributed) Redbud in bloom.

(Jeanette Alosi/Contributed) Redbud blooms in the spring. (Jeanette Alosi/Contributed) Redbuds in bloom are a most welcome harbinger of spring. Their dense clusters of magenta flowers bloom early, providing splashes of color against a winter landscape of browns and grays.

Is the name redbud really the best our ancestors could come up with for this beautiful tree? How could they call that color “red”? Even Wikipedia manages a more accurate “pink to purple.” Other sources are more specific, identifying the brilliant flora as bright pink, rosy pink, magenta, or reddish purple. The redbud’s Latin name, Cercis, is equally pedestrian: it is taken from the Greek kerkis which means “a weaver’s shuttle” and refers to the shape of the tree’s seed pods.

Both the tool and the seed pods (which are essentially fruits) are elongated ovals with gently pointed ends. Cercis is a member of the Fabaceae or pea family (technically a legume) and it bears the family resemblance both in its fruits, which in shape and size are dead ringers for snow peas, and in its flowers. Cercis occidentalis is native to the arid western states.

It is commonly known as Western or California redbud, and sometimes Arizona redbud. Occidentem is Latin for “western sky” or “p.