658 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



Spec. Char., S^c. Leaves very obtuse, and wholly glabrous. A native of the 

 south of Europe, in sunny places, and on the banks of rivers. Flowers of 

 a deep rose colour ; in a variation, white. {Dec. Prod., ii. p. 518.) A 

 deciduous tree, a native of the south of Europe, introduced in 1596. 

 Height from 20 ft. to 30 ft, 

 Vmieties. 



& C. S. 2 parvifldrtim Dec. — A shrub ; its branches spotted with white; 

 its flowers smaller by half than those of the species. A native of 

 Bokhara. {Dec. Prod., ii. p. 518.) 

 1^ C. S. 2>flore ulbido. — Flowers whitish. There is a plant of this in the 



London Horticultural Society's Garden. 



$ C. S. 4 rosea. — A seedling, raised from foreign seeds, which has flowered 



in the Botanic Garden at Kew ; has numerous flowers, which are 



brighter, and a shade darker, than those of the species ; and they 



also appear about a fortnight later ; but it is, perhaps, hardly worth 



noticing as a variety. 



Description, Sfc. The common Judas tree, in the south of Europe, forms a 



handsome low tree, with a flat spreading head, in the form of a parasol ; 



and it is a singularly beautiful object in spring, especially when it is covereil 



with its numerous bright purplish pink flowers, which appear before the leaves, 



in May, and are produced not only from the young wood, but from wood of 



6 or 8 years' growth, and even from the trunk. The leaves are round and 



heart-shaped, and are not liable to be attacked by insects. The flowers are 



succeeded by flat, thin, brown pods, nearly inches in length, which remain on 



the tree all the year, and give it a very singular appearance in the winter 



season. In moist seasons, the tree often flowers a second time in the autumn. 



In the neighbourhood of London, the tree generally flowers fi-eely ; but the 



pods are not produced in abundance, unless the tree is planted against a wall; 



and only sparingly, and in the finest seasons, on standard trees. The rate of 



growth is about 18 in. a year, for the first ten years. 



Geography and History. The Judas tree is found in a wild state in the 

 south of France, in Spain, in Italy, about Rome ; in Greece, in Japan, in 

 Asiatic Turkey, and more especially in Judea. It was cultivated by Gerard 

 in 1596, who has given a good figure of it, and says, " The Frenchmen call it 

 guainier, as though they should say, vaginula, or a little sheath : most of the 

 Spaniards name it algorovo loco ; that is, Silicjua s} Ivestris fatui (wild or fool- 

 ish [)od) ; others, arbol d' amor, for the braveness' sake. It may be called, in 

 English, Judas tree ; for it is thought to be that on which Judas hanged him- 

 self, and not upon the elder tree, as it is vulgarly said." {Johns. Ger., 1428.) 

 From the tree being easily propagated by seeds, which are received in abun- 

 dance from the Continent, it has become very general in English gardens ; 

 in the neighbourhood of London as a standard, and, to the north, planted 

 against a wall. The French plant it against wails, and also cover arbours 

 with it; and, formerly, it used to be clipped into balls, and other geometrical 

 figures, in British gardens. 



Properties and Uses. The wood is very hard, and agreeably veined, or 

 rather blotched or waved, with black, green, and yellow spots, on a grey 

 ground. It takes a beautiful polish, and weighs nearly 48 lb. to the cubic foot. 

 The flowers, which have an agreeable acid taste, are mixed with salads, or 

 fried with batter, as fritters ; and the flower buds are pickled in vinegar. In 

 British gardens, the tree is planted as one of ornament ; and, as it grows 

 about the same height, and flowers about the same time, as the laburnum, 

 the Guelder rose, and the hawthorn, it enters into beautiful combination 

 with these and other trees. The foliage is hardly less beautiful and re- 

 markable than the flowers; the leaves being of a pale bluish green on the 

 upper surface, and of a sea-green underneath, and of a cordate uniform 

 shape, ajiparently consisting of two leaflets joined together ; which cir- 

 cumstance, combined with others, brings the genus in close alliance with 

 that of Bauhinw. 



