EcoFlora - Euonymus alatus

Euonymus alatus (Thunb.) Siebold
Family: Celastraceae Winged Spindletree, more...winged burning bush, burningbush [Euonymus alata (Thunb.) Siebold, orth.] Paul Rothrock	vPlants Gleason & Cronquist Indiana Flora Resources The Morton Arboretum Shrub to 6 m tall Leaves: opposite to subopposite, very short-stalked, medium to dark green above, paler and sometimes lightly hairy beneath, 2.5 - 7.5 cm long, 1.3 - 3.2 cm wide, elliptic to inversely egg-shaped with a wedge-shaped base and a pointed tip, finely toothed. Leaves turn bright red to pinkish red in fall. Flowers: borne in clusters of three to eight in leaf axils, yellowish green, 6 - 8 mm wide, four-petaled. Fruit: a red, one- to four-lobed capsule 6 mm across, splitting to reveal a seed covered by an orange to red coating (aril), dropping in fall. Twigs: green to brown, becoming gray with age, with two to four prominent corky wings. Similar species: Other species of Euonymus in the Chicago Region lack the corky winged stems of Euonymus alata. Flowering: late April to late May Habitat and ecology: Introduced from Asia in the 1860s, E. alata has escaped from cultivation. Birds eat the fruit and disseminate seeds into natural areas. The plant tolerates full sun to almost full shade and a range of soils, and competes with native shrubs in open woods, pastures, and mature second-growth forests in the eastern and midwestern United States. Occurence in the Chicago region: non-native Notes: Many cultivars of this species have been developed, and it is commonly planted as a hedge or in foundations for its fall color and winged stems. However, it has escaped from cultivation and should be planted with caution. Etymology: Euonymus is the ancient Greek name for the genus. Alata comes from the Latin word meaning winged, referring to the twigs. Author: The Morton Arboretum Vascular plants of NE US and adjacent Canada Shrub to 2.5 m; twigs with 2-4 conspicuous corky wings; lvs subsessile, elliptic to obovate, to 6(-8) cm, sharply serrulate, turning bright red in autumn, then deciduous; fls 4-merous, green, 6-8 mm wide; fr smooth, purplish; aril orange. Native of e. Asia, widely cult. and locally escaped and established in our range. May, June. Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp. ©The New York Botanical Garden. All rights reserved. Used by permission. From Flora of Indiana (1940) by Charles C. Deam Indiana Coefficient of Conservatism: C =null, non-native Wetland Indicator Status: N/A
Open Interactive Map Paul Rothrock Paul Rothrock Morton Arboretum Hal Paver Jackie Dietrich Samuel Royer Jackie Dietrich Julia Keebaugh Jane Bozsik Ellie Cheng Valentina Soto Daniel Leapman Grant H Jazmine Rud Johannes Nelson Michel Liu Francis Carr Kayla Cannon Alana Schreibman Bilguun-Erdene Munkhbadrakh James White Haley Zeliff Mia Fox Karl Russek Eric Nielsen Katie Baillie Bevan Pearson Hal Paver Kyua Park Jackie Dietrich Aiysha Scott Rose Nagele Julia Keebaugh Pranav Mishra Jane Bozsik Isabel Zapata Hal Paver Yuxuan Wu Grant H Tingyuan Sheng Erika Harness Francis Carr Sara Papp Catherine Tso Maya Kreger Alana Schreibman Danielle Liu Ahaan Chhatwal Abigail Clyde Helen Chung Rose William JaHyun Yang Angela Schmitt Bevan Pearson $Euonymus alatus image$ Click to Display 100 Initial Media - - - - - View All Media