Judas tree or Eastern redbud: how to tell them apart?
Judas tree and Eastern redbud look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Judas tree
Cercis siliquastrum
Eastern redbud
Cercis canadensis
Eastern redbud has thinner, matt leaves with a distinctly drawn-out tip (and often occurs as the purple 'Forest Pansy'), whereas Judas tree has rounder, thicker, glossy leaves without a marked tip.
🍃 Leaves
Round, heart-shaped, hairless, blue-green
Deciduous, heart-shaped, bright green (purple in the cultivar 'Forest Pansy'), turning yellow in autumn
🌸 Flowers
Bright pink, in dense clusters directly on the trunk and old branches
Small bright pink papilionaceous flowers, appearing in clusters directly on the branches and trunk before the leaves
🍎 Fruits
Flat purplish pods
Flat red-brown pods, persisting for part of the winter
🪵 Bark
Grey-brown bark becoming more fissured with age.
Grey-brown, smooth then slightly scaly
📏 Size
5 to 10 m tall
6 to 10 m tall
🗺️ Habitat
Widely planted in towns and in the south of France
Planted as a specimen in gardens for its early flowering directly on the wood
⚠️ Toxicity
No known toxicity
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🔎 And from the Eastern redbud side
The Judas tree has rounded, thick, glossy leaves in a regular heart shape, whereas the eastern redbud has thinner, matt leaves with a drawn-out tip.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.