Judas tree

American  

noun

1. a purple-flowered Eurasian tree, Cercis siliquastrum, of the legume family, supposed to be the kind upon which Judas hanged himself.

2. any of various other trees of the same genus, as the redbud.

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Judas tree British  

noun

1. small Eurasian leguminous tree, Cercis siliquastrum, with pinkish-purple flowers that bloom before the leaves appear: popularly thought to be the tree on which Judas hanged himself See also redbud

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Etymology

Origin of Judas tree

First recorded in 1660–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Judas tree

Cercis Siliquastrum.—This is the Judas tree, and as many know, while the leaves are still absent the stems bear clusters of rosy-purple flowers.

From Trees and Shrubs for English Gardens by Cook, Ernest Thomas

Peering through the bars, between the sombre boughs of a Judas tree, he saw a pretty little white house with a flight of stone steps before the front door, flanked by two blue vases.

From The Aspirations of Jean Servien by France, Anatole

Here they sat down, the gold light bathing them, behind them fairy vistas, fountains of living green, stars of the dogwood and purple sprays of Judas tree.

From The Long Roll by Johnston, Mary

There are more boats at its wharves than buds on yonder Judas tree.

From Lewis Rand by Johnston, Mary

The tall dogwood, with its clusters of large flowers like swarms of white butterflies, mingled with the Judas tree, whose leafless boughs were densely covered with racemes of purple blossoms.

From Three Years in the Sixth Corps A Concise Narrative of Events in the Army of the Potomac, from 1861 to the Close of the Rebellion, April, 1865 by Stevens, George T.