An attractive ornamental for small gardens and parks. Its French name 'arbre de Judée' ('tree of Judea') reflects its common cultivation around Jerusalem, but English confusion has spawned a myth linking it to Judas Iscariot. Its introduction date to Britain and Ireland is uncertain, but it has been cultivated for at least 300 years.

Native to France and Italy, and across the eastern Mediterranean through the Balkans, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Monoecious, hermaphrodite flowers. Insect-pollinated. Gravity-dispersed.

Small (14m), bushy with sinuous branches, usually with a distinct if short trunk. Bark dark grey, smooth, maturing ridged and fluted. Twigs glabrous. Leaves large (10cm), rounded and often wider than long, heart-shaped at the base, grey-green, on a slender red-green petiole. Flowers cauliflorous, before the leaves, emerging from old wood on branches and even trunks, bright pink-purple and pea-like, on slender stalks. Seeds in a flattened hanging pod (9-12cm), green to red to brown, with 8-12 seeds, held over winter.

Hardy in all but the severest winters (to -15°C). Grows in most well-drained soils, including chalky and stony soils. ‘Bodnant’ is an old variety with deep pink flowers. ‘Alba’ has white blossoms.

Pollinating insects, especially bees, benefit from a rich supply of nectar.

Generally healthy.

Ornamental. Flowers are sometimes used for decoration in salads, adding an acidic flavour. Timber is hard with attractive figure, but rarely available.