Judas trees
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Common Judas Tree ( Cercis siliquastrum ) |
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The Judas trees ( Cercis ) are a genus of plants in the legume family (Fabaceae). They are widespread in the northern hemisphere .
description
Appearance and leaves
The Cercis species grow as deciduous trees or shrubs . The alternate and spirally arranged leaves on the branches are single or double-lobed. The stipules are membranous or scaly small and fall off early or are absent.
Inflorescences and flowers
On older branches, racemose or almost gold-like , short inflorescences with many flowers are formed. The hermaphrodite, zygomorphic flowers are five-fold. The five reddish sepals are short bell-shaped fused and the five calyx teeth are unequal and broadly triangular. The innermost of the five mostly purple to pink or white petals is smaller than the rest. In contrast to typical butterfly blossoms , the flag is not the largest, but the smallest and is inwardly ( cochlearly ascending ). There are ten free stamens ; the stamens are hairy in the lower area. The short-stalked, single, middle or upper carpel contains two to ten ovules . The slim pen ending in a capitate stigma .
Fruits and seeds
The flat, thin legumes contain two to many seeds. The flattened, almost circular seeds have no endosperm .
Chromosome numbers
The chromosome number is 2n = 14 with a basic chromosome number of x = 7.
Systematics and distribution
The genus Cercis was first published in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum , 1, p. 374. The genus Cercis belongs to the Subertribus Cercidinae from the tribe Cercideae within the Fabaceae family .
The home areas of the species are in the Mediterranean climatic zones of the northern hemisphere . A few species ( Cercis siliquastrum and Cercis canadensis ) are used as ornamental plants .
The genus Cercis used to contain six, currently ten or eleven species. About four of them occur in North America, one in Eastern and Southern Europe, one in Central Asia and five species only in China :
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Canadian Judas Tree ( Cercis canadensis
L. ): This tree reaches heights of growth of up to 12 m and is native to North America and Mexico:
- Cercis canadensis var. Canadensis
- Cercis canadensis var. Mexicana (Rose) M. Hopkins (Syn .: Cercis mexicana Rose )
- Cercis canadensis var. Texensis (S.Watson) M.Hopkins (Syn .: Cercis occidentalis var. Texensis S.Watson , Cercis texensis coffin. )
- Chinese Judas Tree ( Cercis chinensis Bunge ): This shrub reaches heights of 2 to 5 m and is often planted; it is rarely found growing wild in forests or limestone areas. Find locations are from the Chinese provinces of Anhui , Fujian , Guangdong , Guangxi , Guizhou , Hebei , Henan , Hubei , Hunan , Jiangsu , Liaoning , Shaanxi , Shandong , Shanxi , Sichuan , Yunnan , Zhejiang .
- Cercis chingii Chun : This shrub can be found in forests and bushes, or planted in gardens at low elevations in the Chinese provinces: Anhui, northern Guangdong and Zhejiang.
- Cercis chuniana F.P. Metcalf (Syn .: Cercis likiangensis Chun ex Y.Chen ): This tree reaches heights of growth of 6 to 27 m and is found in mountain valleys or in forests on rivers in the Chinese provinces: Fujian, northern Guangdong, northeastern Guangxi, southeastern Guizhou , is located in southeastern Hunan, southern Jiangxi , Zhejiang.
- Cercis gigantea ined .: It occurs in China.
- Cercis glabra Pamp. (Syn .: Cercis yunnanensis Hu & WCCheng ): This tree reaches heights of growth of 6 to 16 m and can be found in forests, mountain slopes, in valleys along the roads and on rocks at altitudes between 600 and 1900 m in the Chinese provinces: Anhui , Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang.
- Cercis griffithii Boiss. : It occurs in Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia.
- Cercis occidentalis Torr. ex A.Gray (Syn .: Cercis canadensis var. orbiculata (Greene) Barneby , Cercis orbiculata Greene ): This shrub reaches heights of growth of up to 4.5 m and is native to southwestern North America from California to Arizona.
- Cercis racemosa olive. : This tree reaches heights of growth of 8 to 15 m and can be found in forests, mountain slopes, roadsides and in the vicinity of settlements at altitudes of 1000 to 1800 m in the Chinese provinces: western Guizhou, western Hubei, eastern Sichuan, northeastern Yunnan.
- Ordinary Judas tree ( Cercis siliquastrum L. ): The natural distribution extends over the Mediterranean countries in southern Europe and the Middle East.
Naming
The German common name Judasbaum is derived from a story. It is said that the apostle Judas Iscariot hanged himself from a tree of this species after betraying Jesus.
use
Flowers, legumes, and seeds of some species are eaten. The hard wood is used. The medicinal effects of Cercis canadensis and Cercis chinensis were examined.
swell
- Dezhao Chen, Prof. Dianxiang Zhang , Supee Saksuwan Larsen & Michael A. Vincent: Cercis in the Flora of China. Volume 10, 2010, p. 5, online (section description, distribution and systematics).
- Cercis at DELTA by L. Watson & MJ Dallwitz (section description).
- Charles C. Davis, Peter W. Fritsch, Jianhua Li and Michael J. Donoghue: Phylogeny and Biogeography of Cercis (Fabaceae): Evidence from Nuclear Ribosomal ITS and Chloroplast ndhF Sequence Data , In: Systematic Botany. Volume 27, number 2, 2002, pp. 289-302, PDF-online .
Individual evidence
- ^ Cercis at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis.
- ↑ a b c d entry in GRIN - Taxonomy for Plants (last update 2007).
- ^ Cercis at DELTA by L. Watson & MJ Dallwitz .
- ↑ Cercis canadensis , Cercis chinensis , Cercis occidentalis and Cercis siliquastrum in the entry in Plants for A Future (English).
Web links
- SI Ali: Caesalpiniaceae in the Flora of Pakistan : Cercis - online (English).