How do you recognise Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum)?

Leaf

Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0

Judas tree

Cercis siliquastrum L.

Also known as: Love tree

Family: Fabaceae

5 to 10 m tall

Widely planted in towns and in the south of France

Flowering: March – April, before the leaves

Full sun

-18°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Flowers directly on the trunk and main branches, even before the leaves — spectacular in spring. 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

🌸 Flowers

Bright pink, in dense clusters directly on the trunk and old branches

🍎 Fruits

Flat purplish pods

🪵 Bark

Grey-brown bark becoming more fissured with age.

🗺️ Distribution

Eastern Mediterranean region; widely planted as an ornamental tree in the south of France

🐝 Value for pollinators

Bright pink flowering directly on the wood before the leaves, very rich in nectar, much visited by bees in spring

✂️ Horticultural uses

Planted as a specimen or in avenues for its spectacular April flowering, appreciated in Mediterranean gardens

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No known toxicity

⚠️ Look-alike species

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.

🌿 Other Fabaceae to discover

Styphnolobium japonicum

Kentucky coffee tree

Gymnocladus dioicus

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.