Cercidiphyllum japonicum, known as the Japanese Judas-tree, is a species of flowering tree in the Cercidiphyllaceae family that commonly goes by the name Katsura tree. It is native to China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The tree is deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

and grows to 40 to 60 feet. Its leaves are round. The tree flowers in March or April and produces winged seeds. Several different cultivars are grown, including 'Aureum', 'Heronswood Globe', 'Pendula', and 'Ruby'.