The Pea Tree By: Robin Derkacs, Pat Lisetski, Jan Oren, and Ellen Stocker GAMSP: August 2015

Dedication This book is dedicated to our GAMSP colleagues and professors. Thank you for your hard work and unwavering dedication! And to all you tree huggers out there, here’s to you, too!

Mommy, is that a pea tree? Actually, Alawa, that is the Eastern Redbud Tree. But you’re right, those are pea pods you see there!

Can we eat those pea pods? Yes. Your ancestors used the Eastern Redbud Tree for many things.

Past and Present Human Uses The bark was boiled to make tea that treated whooping chough and dysentery. The roots and inner bark were used for fevers, congestion, and vomiting. Flowers were fried and eaten. Today, people add flowers and flower buds to salads, breads, and pancakes. They are high in Vitamin C. Young pea pods may be eaten raw, boiled, or sautéed. Most often today, it is an ornamental tree used in landscapes.

Oh wow! Do our cousins in California have these trees too? The Eastern Redbud tree grows mainly from the Midwest to the East Coast of the United States and Canada.

How did it get all the way from Texas to Florida and in Canada too, Mommy? Well, the seeds are spread by the wind and by animals. Bees also help spread the pollen from the tree’s flowers.

Environment & Ecology Pollination ecologists identify many native bee varieties that benefit from the tree’s pollen. The tree is a habitat for many insects and small animals. (Ex: nesting sites, nesting materials, shelter for birds and mammals) Northern Bobwhites and songbirds, such as Chickadees, eat the seeds.

But, Mommy, I don’t see any flowers on this tree. All I see is the heart- shaped leaves and the pea pods. Well, sweetheart, that is because the Eastern Redbud Tree flowers in early spring and then the magenta-pink flowers turn into the pea pods, and then the leaves grow from there.

Pink! That is my favorite color! Do all the pea trees have pink flowers in the spring? Most of them do, but within the last years, some trees have experienced a mutation. In those trees, the color gene mutated and lost its red pigmentation, causing some flowers to be white.

Tree Facts Scientific name: Cercis canadensis leguminosae – The legume family (The Pea Tree!) Understory species that grows in open woods Soil – Moist, sandy soils in valleys or bottom lands – Grows well in all pH, but grows best with a pH of 7.5 or higher

Local Soil Sampling 1

Local Soil Sample 2

Local Soil Sampling 3

Local Soil pH Levels

I never told you, Alawa, your name means “pea” in our native language. This tree connects you not only to our heritage, but to the evolution and ecology of our Earth. We are all one. Thank you for telling me all about this tree, Mommy. This leaf is for you. I love you!

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” Native American Proverb

References NPIN: Native Plant Database. (n.d.). Retrieved August 13, 2015, from Brakie, M. (2010, August 1). Eastern Redbud. Retrieved August 13, 2015, from Friedman, W. (n.d.). Mutants in the Midst. Retrieved August 13, 2015, from mutants-in-our-midst.pdf mutants-in-our-midst.pdf Arbor Day Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved August 13, 2015, from D=912 D=912 Cercis canadensis L. (n.d.). Retrieved August 13, 2015, from anadensis.htm anadensis.htm Photo credits: Google Images and on-site photographer Janice Oren.