Ralph Austin, age 12, of Rutland, Vt., for his question:

WHY IS IT CALLED THE JUDAS TREE?

The Judas tree is any one of a group of small trees and shrubs native to North America, southern Europe, Asia and Japan. It is also called the redbud. The tree received its name because of the belief that Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus Christ, hanged himself on a redbud tree.

Redbuds or Judas trees are particuarly beautiful early in spring when the whole tree is covered with pink, delicate blooms, each about one inch long. The flowers emerge from both the old wood and the new twigs. They reach full bloom before the leaves appear.

Some redbud trees grow 40 feet high. The reddish brown bark is smooth and the wood is hard and close grained. The trees bear many seeds in flat, thin pods that are a valuable source of food for wild game.

Gardeners value the Judas tree as an ornamental. The trees grow from either seeds or cuttings and do best in fertile, sandy soil.