Euonymus bungeanus

Shrub or tree 5.5 - 7.5 m tall, 3 - 4.5 m wide Leaves: opposite to subopposite, stalked (usually longer than 12 mm), light to medium green, 5 - 10 cm long, 2 - 4.5 cm wide, narrow elliptic to inversely egg-shaped with a broad wedge-shaped base and pointed tip, finely toothed. Flowers: borne in clusters, yellowish green, about 6 mm wide, four-petaled, with purple anthers. Fruit: a pink capsule, sometimes yellowish, deeply four-lobed, splitting open to reveal white to pinkish seeds covered by a pinkish orange coating (aril). Bark: becoming furrowed with age. Twigs: slender, greenish, usually weeping, sometimes with tiny corky lines. Form: rounded with branches hanging downward.

Similar species: Similar Euonymus species of the Chicago Region can be distinguished by a few key characteristics. Euonymus alata has distinctly corky, 2- to 4-winged stems. Euonymus atropurpurea has purple flowers, purple to red fruits with bright red seeds, and leaves with hairy undersides. Euonymus europaea has yellowish green flowers with yellow anthers, yellow to pink fruits with orange coated seeds, and leaf stalks less than 12 mm long. Euonymus hamiltoniana has greenish white flowers with purple anthers, pink to purple fruits with orange to red coated seeds, and leaf stalks less than 12 mm long.

Flowering: May

Habitat and ecology: Introduced from China, E. bungeanum tolerates full sun to partial shade and a variety of soils, but it rarely escapes cultivation. One established spontaneous population exists at Carle Woods in Cook County.

Occurence in the Chicago region: non-native

Etymology: Euonymus is the ancient Greek name for the genus.

Author: The Morton Arboretum