Eastern Redbud. Brooklyn, NY. Photo by Christa Avampato.
My Brooklyn neighborhood is in full bloom with flowering trees putting on a colorful show for all of us. One of the trees that always catches my eyes this time of year is the Eastern Redbud. They grow bright pink, purple, and red buds directly from their trunks. Known as cauliflory and found mostly in the tropics in species such as cacao, jackfruit, and papaya, the evolutionary purpose of this adaptation has a few hypotheses.
1.) Foster as many partnerships as possible With the ability to grow flowers on the trunk, the Eastern Redbud can produce more flowers, allowing for more seed dispersal and pollination opportunities. Additionally, more animals can act as pollinators. For example, small mammals climbing onto the tree trunks wouldn’t normally play a role in pollination when the flowers are on delicate branches that cannot support the weight of these mammals. However, with flowers growing on the main trunk that can support them, they act as pollinators for the redbuds just as much as birds and small insects.
For us, emulating a redbud means considering all of the potential partnerships we have around us. How can we change what we’re doing to help them help us? Even if someone doesn’t normally play a certain role, could they fill that role if we altered the system in a way that allows them to participate?
Eastern Redbud. Brooklyn, NY. Photo by Christa Avampato.
2.) Energy and resource savings Without the need to grow a network on many delicate branches, flowering directly on the trunk saves the tree energy, water, and food. These resources can be poured into creating more flowers and therefore greater pollination and seed dispersal. The redbud certainly takes advantage of this, and in full bloom appears to explode with flowers.
There is nothing worse in nature than waste. Wasted energy can and often does mean the difference between life and death. Are we using all the resources we have in the most optimal way? Can we change how we operate to make better use of the resources we have to meet our ends goals?
3.) A matter of physics In the case of trees such as cacao, jackfruit, and papaya, the fruit is too heavy for small delicate branches to bear. The weight of the fruit requires a sturdier structure so they grow directly from the trunk. This also allows the fruit to grow to a larger side, and again, allows for greater seed dispersal.
Sometimes we’re forced to do things a certain way for the sake of practicality and to best meet our end goal. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but practicality is the agent of adaptation, moving us along to do exactly what needs to be done.
Eastern Redbud. Brooklyn, NY. Photo by Christa Avampato.
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
2 thoughts on “What we can learn from Eastern Redbud trees”
Thank you. The redbut I have on the southern end of the nature coast of Florida (Gulf, estuary, Central) is SO old, or so I’m told by locals. 50+ yr maybe. And it blossoms in December, just enough to warm my heart, but stops them comes to full bloom in January. My homes sits high in the trees and this tree sprouts crooked outside and encompasses half the house’s windows, needing no art and no curtains. It’s stunning.
It’s provided us with 2 young trees. When these two were first sprouting up I didn’t know what they were and I even hacked one back many times. Both are now full-fledged trees about 8 years into it and only started to show their blossoms within the past couple seasons, more on time with other local trees, jan-Feb.
I love the way the blossoms come out first n these barn and dead-loiking branches. Best is that when the leaves come on and the branches get really heavy it allows for some trimming and I don’t feel bad. It is a gnarly and crazy looking tree in so many ways but what a precious gift.
I can’t forget to mention the sound of the bees. They happily hover over my head as I walk by without a care. Somehow the bright pink and the buzz of the bees makes it feel like spring when there is no reason for spring to be happening. I’ll have to ask the bee lady if there’s a special Honey associated with red buds.
I’m sure I got off track but I definitely enjoyed your article and had to share my appreciation for the unique ways of the red bud.
Thank you. The redbut I have on the southern end of the nature coast of Florida (Gulf, estuary, Central) is SO old, or so I’m told by locals. 50+ yr maybe. And it blossoms in December, just enough to warm my heart, but stops them comes to full bloom in January. My homes sits high in the trees and this tree sprouts crooked outside and encompasses half the house’s windows, needing no art and no curtains. It’s stunning.
It’s provided us with 2 young trees. When these two were first sprouting up I didn’t know what they were and I even hacked one back many times. Both are now full-fledged trees about 8 years into it and only started to show their blossoms within the past couple seasons, more on time with other local trees, jan-Feb.
I love the way the blossoms come out first n these barn and dead-loiking branches. Best is that when the leaves come on and the branches get really heavy it allows for some trimming and I don’t feel bad. It is a gnarly and crazy looking tree in so many ways but what a precious gift.
I can’t forget to mention the sound of the bees. They happily hover over my head as I walk by without a care. Somehow the bright pink and the buzz of the bees makes it feel like spring when there is no reason for spring to be happening. I’ll have to ask the bee lady if there’s a special Honey associated with red buds.
I’m sure I got off track but I definitely enjoyed your article and had to share my appreciation for the unique ways of the red bud.
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Oh what a wonderful share! Thank you so much. redbuds are endlessly fascinating!
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