 There is a myth that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from a tree of this species, causing its white flowers to turn red.This belief is related to the common name "Judas tree", which is possibly a corrupted derivation from the French common name, "Arbre de Judée", meaning "tree of Judea", referring to the hilly regions of that country where the tree used to be common.Another possible source for the vernacular name is the fact that the flowers and seedpods can dangle direct from the trunk in a way reminiscent of Judas's possible method of suicide.