From the Monticello website:
“In 1781 Thomas Jefferson listed redbud in his only published book, Notes on the State of Virginia, as a native “Esculent” tree. He intended it to be a part of his shrubbery scheme for the western slope of Monticello and in the clumps of trees planted in the angles of the house in 1807. He likewise directed that redbuds be planted among clumps of native trees and shrubs at Poplar Forest in 1812. Eastern redbud is often called “Judas-tree,” which actually refers to a Mediterranean species, Cercis siliquastrum.”
