Oklahoma’s State Tree
The redbud is generally an understory species. In other words, it is usually dwarfed by the pine, oak-pine, and oak-hickory forests of eastern and central Oklahoma. However, the small tree grows in forests, field edges, on hillsides, or in valleys throughout Oklahoma as far west as Woodward County. To early settlers, it was a colorful surprise in an otherwise dreary land.
The heart-shaped, three- to five-inch leaves turn to a bright clear yellow in the fall. In spring, redbuds blossom, usually before the leaves appear. The bright magenta, pea-shaped flowers grow in clusters along the twigs and small branches.
First Impressions
Maimee Lee Robinson was immediately impressed with the redbud’s beauty when she arrived in Oklahoma from Louisiana in 1922. An early conservationist, she was astonished to see people break off redbud branches and stick them in the radiator cap of their Ford automobiles. “You could see the hot water spouting and the poor flowers dying,” she would say. Robinson was determined to help preserve Oklahoma’s redbuds.
In the 1930s, Mrs. Mamie Lee Robinson Browne was president of both the Oklahoma City Federation of Women’s Clubs and the University Forum, which represented about seventy-five clubs. She formed a committee of these club members to campaign for adopting the redbud as Oklahoma’s state flower. They changed course when they learned that Oklahoma already had an official flower, but not a tree.
Below is a copy of the state tree resolution:
WHEREAS, in the beginning of this great commonwealth, when the sturdy and hardy pioneers thereof trekked across its rolling hills and plains, one of the first sights to greet them spread out in a glorious panorama, was the Redbud tree—a tree, that as it arose in the spring from the verdant fields, was emblematic of the eternal renewal of all life; a tree that in its beauty renewed the worn spirit and gave hope to the tired heart of a people seeking homes in a new land, and;
WHEREAS, it is the will of the Legislature that the adoption of the Redbud tree as the official State Tree of the State of Oklahoma would be small, but fitting tribute, to the part it played in, and the beauty it has lent to, the lives of the people, of this State,
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Senate of the State of Oklahoma and the House of Representatives of the State of Oklahoma:
That the Redbud tree be adopted and the same is made the official tree of this State.
Governor E. W. Marland was about to sign the redbud bill in March, 1937, when he was interrupted by a telegram. Mrs. Edward Campbell Lawson of Tulsa, president of the National Federation of Women’s Clubs, was not a redbud fan. She told the Governor that the redbud was actually the “Judas tree,” on which Judas Iscariot had hanged himself in long-ago Jordan.
The controversy spilled over into newspapers from New York to San Francisco. It was even covered in the London Times!
The dispute was resolved by Mr. John Y. Iskian, an Oklahoma City resident who was a native of Jerusalem. He affirmed that there was no connection between Oklahoma’s Redbud tree and Israel’s “Judas tree.” They were similar only in that both trees had the same color flowers and bloomed early in spring.
Thus pardoned, the redbud was signed into law by Governor Marland on March 30, 1937. Oklahoma residents applauded the choice, one poet writing,
A symbol of red earth and free, when blooming anywhere.”
Mrs. Browne now led a state-wide campaign to plant redbuds. With the assistance of redbud fan Walter M. Harrison, managing editor of the Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman, Oklahoma City began to turn red.
The redbud passion spread throughout Oklahoma. In 1939, a law was passed making it illegal to harm redbuds along Oklahoma’s highways.
The late Maimee Lee Robinson Browne left Oklahomans one more tribute to their beloved redbud—a collection of redbud poetry she collected over the years.
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