''Cercis siliquastrum'', commonly known as the Judas tree or Judas-tree, is a small

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...

tree in the

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

family Fabaceae which is noted for its prolific display of deep pink flowers in spring. It is native to

Southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Alba ...

and

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes A ...

Description

This species forms a small tree up to 12 m (39 ft) in height and 10 m (32 ft) in width. The deep pink flowers are produced on year-old or older growth, including the trunk, in spring. Also, the flowers display a blossom with five free petals and fused sepals. This flower shape is typical of the pea family ( Fabaceae). The leaves appear shortly after the first flowers emerge. These are cordate with a blunt apex, which occasionally has a shallow notch at the tip. The tree produces long flat pods that hang vertically. The flowers are edible and reportedly have a sweet-acid taste.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, t ...

in 1753 and he gave it the specific epithet of ''siliquastrum'' which is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

word ''siliqua'', meaning "pod". The generic name comes from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''kerkis'', a "

shuttle The original meaning of the word shuttle is the device used in weaving to carry the weft. By reference to the continual to-and-fro motion associated with that, the term was then applied in transportation and then in other spheres. Thus the word ma ...

", which refers to the resemblance shown to this weaver's tool by the flat, woody seedpods. There are several varieties and subspecies including:- *var. ''hebecarpa'' Bornm. *nothosubsp. ''yaltikirii'' (Ponert) Govaerts *var. ''siliquastrum'' *var. ''alba'' Weston

Distribution and ecological aspects

The flowers are pollinated by bees, attracted by nectar. Pollen from the protruding

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s is deposited on the bee's body and carried to another flower's stigma. In Israel the tree has a status of a protected plant. British journalist Francis McCullagh reported seeing "innumerable" flowering specimens of this tree in Yildiz Park in Istanbul in April 1909.

Cultivation

The species prefers deep, well-drained soils and a position in full sun or partial shade. Cultivars include: *'Afghan Deep Purple' *'Alba' - white flowers *'Bodnant' *'Carnea' *'Fructa Rubra' *'Penduliflora' *'Rubra' - dark pink-purple flowers *'Sterilis' *'Variegata' *'White Swan' The cultivar 'Bodnant' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (No ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. (confirmed 2017). The tree is susceptible to

leafhoppers A leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family Cicadellidae. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind legs are modified for jumping, a ...

, scale insects and psyllids (specifically '' Cacopsylla pulchella'') as well as diseases including canker, coral spot and

verticillium wilt Verticillium wilt is a wilt disease affecting over 350 species of eudicot plants. It is caused by six species of ''Verticillium'' fungi: ''V. dahliae'', ''V. albo-atrum'', ''V. longisporum'', ''V. nubilum'', ''V. theobromae'' and ''V. tricorpus ...

. Propagation is by seed, cuttings or budding. The species produces hard wood with an attractive grain. It is used in veneers and polishes well.

Culture

There is a myth that

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betray ...

hanged himself from a tree of this species, causing its white flowers to turn red. This belief is related to the common name "Judas tree", which is possibly a corrupted derivation from the French common name, ''Arbre de Judée'', meaning ''tree of

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous south ...

'', referring to the hilly regions of that country where the tree used to be common. Another possible source for the vernacular name is the fact that the flowers and seedpods can dangle direct from the trunk in a way reminiscent of Judas's possible method of suicide. A sermon illustration on the deadly effects of succumbing to temptation refers to a false idea that the Judas tree killed bees drawn to it: "Dr. Cuyler forcibly illustrates this by reference to the Judas tree. The blossoms appear before the leaves, and they are of a brilliant crimson. The flaming beauty of the flowers attracts innumerable insects; and the wandering bee is drawn after it to gather honey. But every bee which alights upon the blossom, imbibes a fatal opiate, and drops dead from among the crimson flowers to the earth."William Adamson, "Illustrations to Chapter 3," in Genesis, The Preacher’s Complete Homiletic Commentary (New York; London; Toronto: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1892), 72.

Traditional medicine

The Judas tree is referred to as a traditional

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

medicinal plant.European Journal of Integrative Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eujim.2019.03.005