Winged Euonymus (EwA Guide to Common Invasive Species in Middlesex County (MA, US) )

Winged Euonymus

Euonymus alatus

Summary ⁶

Euonymus alatus, known variously as winged spindle, winged euonymus, or burning bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to central and northern China, Japan, and Korea.

Short Description ⁷

Deciduous bush with multiple winged stems, usually 1.5 to 3m (5-10 ft) high. The leaves are dark green, opposite to sub-opposite, and turn brilliant red-purple in autumn. Flowers are greenish and inconspicuous in spring; fruits are flay, and red-purple when mature in the summer.

Source: EwA Invasive Pocket Fieldguide | © Earthwise Aware

Description ⁶

This deciduous shrub grows to 6.1 m (20 ft) tall, often wider than tall. As with the related Euonymus phellomanus, the stems are notable for their four corky ridges or "wings." The word alatus (or alata, used formerly) is Latin for "winged," in reference to the winged branches. These structures develop from a cork cambium deposited in longitudinal grooves in the twigs' first year, unlike similar wings in other plants. The leaves are .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}2–7 cm (3⁄4–2+3⁄4 in) long and 1–4 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄2 in) broad, ovate-elliptic, with an acute apex. The flowers are greenish, borne over a long period in the spring. The fruit is a red aril enclosed by a four-lobed pink, yellow, or orange capsule

All parts of the plant are toxic by ingestion, causing severe discomfort.

Invasiveness ⁸

This plant is regarded as an invasive species of woodlands in eastern North America, and its importation and sale is prohibited in the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.

🚧 Control Methods (EwA Content Development in Progress) ⁷

{Soon}

Sources and Credits

(c) Joe MacIndewar, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Joe MacIndewar, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/113637079
(c) Claire O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Claire O'Neill, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/141984303
(c) Louisa Dixon, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Louisa Dixon, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/119225948
(c) Claire O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Claire O'Neill, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/110525245
(c) Claire O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Claire O'Neill, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/100543305
(c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euonymus_alatus
(c) Claire O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
Adapted by Claire O'Neill from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euonymus_alatus

More Info

iNat Map

‹ › ×

Winged Euonymus

Summary 6

Short Description 7

Description 6

Invasiveness 8

🚧 Control Methods (EwA Content Development in Progress) 7