Judas tree

English

Judas tree

Etymology

From a European folk belief that Judas Iscariot hanged himself on a tree of this species (the account in the Christian scriptures says he hanged himself, but gives no details).

Noun

Judas tree (plural Judas trees)

1. A small deciduous tree, Cercis siliquastrum, noted for its prolific display of deep-pink flowers in spring.

   Synonym: European redbud

   • 1762 June, “The compendious System of Natural History”, in The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure‎^[1], volume 30, page 297:

     The Spaniards and Portuguese title the siliquastrum the lovely tree, or tree of love; and we call it Judas tree, from a tradition, that it was the tree Judas hanged himself upon.

   • 1858, Adelaide Anne Procter, “The Wayside Inn”, in Legends and Lyrics‎^[2], New York: D. Appleton, page 119:

     […] children, drawing water,
     Looked up and paused to see,
     Amid the apple branches,
     A purple Judas tree.

   • 1926, Vita Sackville-West, Passenger to Teheran‎^[3], London: Leonard & Virginia Woolf, Chapter V, II:

     [The garden] is a tangle of briars and grey sage, and here and there a judas tree in full flower stains the whiteness of the tall planes with its incredible magenta.

Translations

Cercis siliquastrum

• Albanian: rrushkuq m
• Arabic: أُرْجُوَان m (ʔurjuwān), زَمْزَرِيق m (zamzarīq), شَزْرِيق m (šazrīq), خَزْرِيق m (ḵazrīq)
• Armenian: հուդայածառ (hy) (hudayacaṙ), արճվան (arčvan), լսնտորի (hy) (lsntori), լուսնատերևի (hy) (lusnaterewi)

  Middle Armenian: արճուան (arčuan)

• Azerbaijani: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: див рожков m (div rožkov)
• Catalan: arbre de l'amor (ca) m
• Cherokee: ᏃᏓᏥ (nodatsi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 南歐紫荊／南欧紫荆 (Nán-Ōu zǐjīng)

• French: arbre de Judas (fr), arbre de Judée (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Judasbaum m
• Greek: κουτσουπιά (el) f (koutsoupiá)

  Ancient: σημύδα f (sēmúda)

• Hebrew: כְּלִיל הַחֹרֶשׂ (kǝlīl ha-ḣṓreš)
• Hindi: अरगवान (hi) m (aragvān)
• Kazakh: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 유럽박태기나무 (yureopbaktaeginamu)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئەرخەوان (erxewan)

  Northern Kurdish: erxewan (ku) f

• Maltese: siġra ta’ Ġuda f, ħarrub ta’ Ġuda m
• Persian: ارغوان (fa) (arğavân)
• Polish: judaszowiec południowy (pl) m, judaszowiec wschodni (pl) m
• Portuguese: olaia (pt) f, árvore-de-judas f
• Russian: иу́дино де́рево n (iúdino dérevo), багря́нник (ru) m (bagrjánnik), багря́нник европе́йский m (bagrjánnik jevropéjskij), церцис европе́йский m (cercis jevropéjskij)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Јудино дрво n, ју̀дић m

  Latin: Judino drvo n, jùdić m

• Spanish: arjorán m, ciclamor m, árbol del amor m, algarrobo loco m, árbol de Judas m
• Swedish: judasträd (sv) n
• Turkish: deliboynuz, erguvan (tr)
• Ukrainian: іу́дине де́рево n (iúdyne dérevo), багря́ник m (bahrjányk), багря́ник європе́йський m (bahrjányk jevropéjsʹkyj), церцис європе́йський m (cercys jevropéjsʹkyj)

References

• Cercis siliquastrum on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Cercis siliquastrum on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Cercis siliquastrum on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons