Originally, the Judas tree - also known to many gardeners as the heart tree or love tree because of the characteristic shape of its foliage - is native to the warm and sunny regions along the Mediterranean Sea and in Asia Minor. The mostly pink, but also white flowers appear in early spring before the leaves sprout, whereby the Judas tree has an interesting feature.
The Judas tree even bears flowers on the trunk
Judas tree even blooms on the trunk
Most European flowering shrubs only flower on the young shoots, in complete contrast to the Judas tree: it also develops its flowering splendor on perennial branches and twigs and even directly on the trunk. This stem flowering - botanically referred to as cauliflory - is normally only observed in tropical trees, which is why the Judas tree is a real rarity in this respect. The flowers appear on short racemes and have a similar structure to butterfly flowers. In addition to the splendor of flowers in spring, the Judas tree also inspires with a magnificent play of colors in autumn, because its leaves change color very intensively.
tips
The Judas tree belongs to the legume family and develops pods about six centimeters long after flowering, which often remain attached until spring and can be used for propagation.