Redbud

You're welcome, BethAngermeier, glad I could help ...

Also, you might want to skip the drama of a species-level ID. Because it sounds like this tree isn't nearby and easy to visit later to check out what it's doing. You could just go ahead and list the common name as Redbud, scientific name as "Cercis sp." And wait ... another PN member later might know more.

Well, hmm, still pretty sure it's a redbud of some kind. But seed pods in May are throwing me off ... the redbuds here in the Deep South aren't anywhere nearly that far along, and we bloom ahead of you. And our seed pods aren't purple, I really didn't take that in the first time I looked at your spotting. You might check another redbud species that does have purple seed pods, called Oklahoma redbud (Cercis reniformis 'Oklahoma'). Its range overlaps your area ... I don't know when it blooms. I wonder if redbud seed pods could still be attached from last year. Seems unlikely.

Hi, BethAngermeier! Eastern redbud, Cercis canadensis, is a likely candidate ... but it's early in the year for one to look like this. Is the spotting date right?