CERCIS SILIQUASTRUM – ALBERO DI GIUDA, 150 cm astone in vaso

Cercis siliquastrum, commonly known as the Judas Tree, belongs to the Leguminosae family and is a plant native to the Mediterranean basin and Southern Europe as far as the Black Sea coast. It can grow up to eight metres in height. It has a rounded, dense crown of light green leaves, a slender, sometimes oblique and sinuous trunk with a dark brown, cracked and wrinkled bark. The leaves are deciduous, alternate and heart-shaped, a beautiful bright green. The flowers are deep pink, tending to purple, and are present throughout the plant as they sprout directly from the bark of the branches and trunk. They are hermaphrodite and grouped in inflorescences and flower in March and April. The fruit is an elongated, flattened legume up to 12 centimetres long that takes on a beautiful red to brown colour and remains on the plant throughout the winter. It is highly valued for its rich spring flowering.

A medieval legend has it that Judas hanged himself from this plant out of remorse for having given the kiss of betrayal to Jesus, and that perhaps this is the reason for the flowers growing on the bare bark.