Flora of North America species comparison

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Euonymus alatus

burning-bush, oriental spindle-tree, wing burning bush, wing euonymus, wing spindle-tree
Habit Shrubs 1–4(–7) m.
Stems

erect;

young branches 4-angled, becoming corky winged.
Leaves

deciduous;

petiole 0.5–4 mm;

blade narrowly elliptic, 2.5–6 × 0.5–2.5 cm, base attenuate or cuneate, margins denticulate, apex acuminate.
Inflorescences

axillary, (1–)3(–7)-flowered.
Flowers

sepals 4;

petals 4, yellowish green or white, oblong, 2–3 × 1.5–2 mm;

stamens 4;

ovary smooth.
Capsules

purple-brown, obovoid, 8–10 × 5–15 mm, deeply 2–4-lobed to base or only 1 lobe developing, lobes nearly distinct, surface smooth.
Seeds

ellipsoid, 7–8 × 4–5 mm;

aril yellow or orange.
2n

= 64.

Euonymus alatus
Phenology Flowering spring–fall; fruiting summer–fall.
Habitat Roadsides, old fields, thickets, woodlands.
Elevation 0–400 m. (0–1300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; UT; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON; e Asia [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The leaves of Euonymus alatus become bright red or reddish purple in fall, one of the reasons for its widespread use as an ornamental.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 125.
Parent taxa Celastraceae > Euonymus
Sibling taxa
E. americanus, E. atropurpureus, E. europaeus, E. fortunei, E. obovatus, E. occidentalis
Synonyms Celastrus alatus, E. alatus var. apterus
Name authority (Thunberg) Siebold: Verh. Batav. Genootsch. Kunst. 12: 49. (1830) — (as Evonimus)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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