JUDAS TREE, the Cereis Siliquastrum of botanists, belongs to the section Caesalpineae of the natural family Leguminosae. It is a native of the south of France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor, and forms a handsome low tree with a flat spreading head. In spring it is covered with a profusion of purplish pink flowers, which appear before the leaves. The flowers have an agreeable acid taste, and are eaten mixed with salad or made into fritters. The tree was one frequently figured by thé older herbalists. One woodcut by Castor Durante is a copy of Lobel’s cut, with the addition of the figure of Judas suspended from one of the branches, illustrating the popular tradition regarding this tree. A second species, C. canadensis, is common in North America from Canada to Virginia, and differs from the European species in its smaller size and pointed leaves. The flowers are also used in salads and for making pickles, while the branches are used to dye wool a nankeen colour.