Eastern Red Bud tree

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Peanut

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Eastern Red Bud tree (Cercis canadensis) is in the pea family and one of the first trees to bloom in spring.

I wait for this native tree to bud and flower every year. I love the buds on a salad. Think of them as capers, they have a slightly sour taste.

They grow pretty much anywhere east of the Rockies. In the warm months they have large numbers of seed pods. The seeds are very nutritious.

See http://www.eattheweeds.com/eastern-red-bud-pea-pods-on-a-tree/ for detail.

This tree is a forager’s delight, even the leaves are edible, cooked or raw.
 
I love seeing this tree start to bloom - such a harbinger of spring!

A couple of decades ago, when my oldest boys were little and I bought my first house, I was so thrilled to have a redbud on our little lot. Decided to snip some little branches and put them in a vase on our dining table. That's when I learned that redbuds don't smell as good as they look. LOL Now I just enjoy them from afar. ;)
 
We have several of these on our place. Very pretty in the spring.
I was totally unaware of the edible aspect to the trees. I will be trying the buds right away. The leaves when they start coming out. And yes they have a ton of seed pods in the fall. I'll sure be harvesting the seed pods this fall. THANKS Peanut
 
We have several of these on our place. Very pretty in the spring.
I was totally unaware of the edible aspect to the trees.

I have breaded and fried the pods, they were good. I treated them just like I would fry okra or squash in a cast iron skillet. I haven't tried the muffin recipe on the eat the weeds site. I'm not much of a baker! :(

Spend a little time on the eat the weeds site if you want to learn about plants. I was a member of the forum for several years. It's where I got the bulk of my plant knowledge. The man knows what he is talking about. ;)
 
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