Flora of North America species comparison

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Euonymus europaeus

European spindle-tree, spindletree
Habit Shrubs or trees 2–10 m.
Stems

erect;

young branches terete, not corky winged.
Leaves

deciduous;

petiole 4–12 mm;

blade ovate-elliptic, 2.5–10 × 1.5–3.5 cm, base attenuate to broadly cuneate, margins minutely denticulate, apex acuminate.
Inflorescences

axillary, 1–7(–15)-flowered.
Flowers

sepals 4;

petals 4, yellow or white, oblong, 3–4 × 1–2 mm;

stamens 4;

ovary smooth.
Capsules

pink, obovoid, 8–10 × 12–15 mm, deeply (2–)4-lobed, rarely only 1 lobe developing, lobes clearly connate, surface smooth.
Seeds

obovoid, 7–8 × 4–5 mm;

aril orange or yellow.

Euonymus europaeus
Phenology Flowering spring–summer; fruiting summer–fall.
Habitat Roadsides, thickets, woodlands.
Elevation 0–300 m. (0–1000 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; IL; IN; KY; MA; ME; MI; MO; MS; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; TN; UT; VA; VT; WI; NB; ON; PE; QC; Europe [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The leaves of Euonymus europaeus vary greatly in shape and size, especially in cultivated plants. The species was introduced to the flora area as a garden ornamental.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 125.
Parent taxa Celastraceae > Euonymus
Sibling taxa
E. alatus, E. americanus, E. atropurpureus, E. fortunei, E. obovatus, E. occidentalis
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 197. (1753) — (as Evonymus)
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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