Judah tree: why is it so called? Crimson (or Judas tree): description, photo

This unusually beautiful tree of Cercis (Cercis) belongs to the genus of deciduous trees, a family of legumes. There are seven species in this genus - two of them grow in China (Chinese and carpentry), two in the Mediterranean, in the Altai in Afghanistan and Iran (European and Griffith), three representatives of a family native to North America. In natural conditions, the tree reaches a height of up to 30 meters. The last three species are fairly cold-resistant, so they are successfully grown in some regions of our country.

Why is a tree so called?

Probably, many are interested in why the plant was named so. Tsertsis, crimson, or Judas tree is called so because, according to one of the legends, on this tree the repentant Judas brought scores with life. True, different peoples have their own version of this story, with trees in it appearing very different - aspen, elder, birch, mountain ash. But for some reason it was Tsertsis who was nicknamed this way - Judas tree.

Features of wood

Zercis has heart-shaped, slightly rounded leaves. They are green on top, smooth, and the underside is bluish. Young, only appeared leaves have a reddish hue, which changes in autumn to light yellow. In the beginning, flowers appear on the tree, and only then leaves. Flowers remain on the tree for twenty days, by this time the leaves are already opening. Flowers of unusual beauty - tender, can be painted in a light lilac or more saturated shade. They are standard for beans.

Judah's tree, the photo of which is presented in this article, has a fruit - a brownish flat bean about 10 cm long. On the tree they last up to two years.

Cerciss Canadian

Has rather small lilac flowers. But there are so many of them that they just sprinkled with branches. They are collected in inflorescences, which number up to 8 flowers. For this tree it is characteristic that flowers appear even on thick and old trunks, thanks to this it looks very impressive. There are terry and white-flowered varieties of the Canadian church.

This tree is quite frost-hardy, and therefore it is successfully grown in the south of our country, right up to the Voronezh region. A bit farther north (in the Lipetsk region), this species freezes, and therefore blooms not too abundantly. Well, in the Judeau, the tree, the photo of which you see in this article, is unlikely to reach its full splendor.

Cerciss European

It is a southern species that does not differ frost resistance, therefore it is widespread only on the Black Sea coast. The flowers are rather large (up to 2.5 cm). They appear as if from the bark that covers the branches. There is a white-flowered form of this species.

In landscape design, Tsertsis (or Judas tree) perfectly combines with bird cherry, beetroot, coniferous plants, cherries, with ornamental flowering shrubs.

Crimson Japanese

In the homeland, the purple Japanese is called Katsura. An ancient legend says that one Chinese monk learned the secret of eternal youth. He felt invulnerable and immortal. As he believed, this gave him the right to commit the most terrible crimes. For his actions he was sentenced to exile to the moon. Not reaching it, the monk broke and fell to the top of the tree Katsura. Since then, it has become the embodiment of an unrealizable or unattainable dream.

Crimson, or Judas tree, is used as a decorative and deciduous breed, it has a bright shade of leaves in the form of a heart. Especially rich this color becomes in the autumn, when the tree is colored with scarlet and yellow colors and looks truly magnificent. A special originality is given to him by very bright brown-carmine shoots.

Today, the crimson Japanese, or Judas tree, is fairly widespread and very popular in Europe, which was first introduced in 1880. Later, new decorative forms appeared - Rotfusch with a funnel-shaped narrow crown and blue-gray, heavily wrinkled foliage, Pendulum with weeping branches and others.

Cultivation in Russia

In the Moscow Botanical Garden of Judah, the tree reaches 7 m in height. In St. Petersburg, you can find even a crimson gorgeous, which is worse than other species tolerates the cold.

This tree loves light. But it is also able to live in the penumbra. It prefers the north side and a place protected from winds. Planting the tree should be in early spring, so that before the onset of cold weather it has taken root. To the soil, the purple is unpretentious, but the weakly acidic loam or sandy loam is most suitable for it. Soil should be light in structure, this will allow the root system to develop freely. Numerous superficial roots add to the tree of wind resistance. The crimson does not really like the transplant, this is due to the fact that the plant has a core root.

Crimson loves moisture. Badly suffers a strong heat, during a drought, often drops leaves. Perfectly takes root near water bodies, along river banks. Land for planting should be well drained, do not have high groundwater.

Judah's Tree: Reproduction

Propagates tsertsis seeds. They are difficult to germinate and require scarification. To disrupt the seed cover, use concentrated sulfuric acid for 30 minutes or the seeds are soaked in warm water, and then stratify in cool conditions - at a temperature of +3 +4 degrees for two months.

Seedlings appear and develop very slowly. In addition, by the end of the first year of life, the seedlings, as a rule, die above the ground, which is the norm. Next year new shoots will appear from the sleeping buds, but they will also die in autumn. Only in the third year will the shoots remain in winter. This unusual development is due to the fact that the tsertsis first of all develops the root system, and only then - the ground part. In nature, this tree grows in arid places, so it does not waste its moisture until it has so many roots.

It is possible to reproduce by means of layers and propagation. Escape for this cut in winter.