Euonymus obovatus |
Euonymus alatus |
|
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running strawberry-bush |
burning-bush, oriental spindle-tree, wing burning bush, wing euonymus, wing spindle-tree |
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Habit | Shrubs 0.1–0.5 m. Stems creeping rooting at nodes; young branches 4-angled, not corky winged. | Shrubs 1–4(–7) m. Stems erect; young branches 4-angled, becoming corky winged. |
Leaves | deciduous; petiole 3–5 mm; blade obovate, 2–8 × 1.5–4.5 cm, base attenuate, margins crenate-serrate, apex acute or acuminate. |
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 | terminal or axillary, 1–5-flowered. |
axillary, (1–)3(–7)-flowered. |
Flowers | sepals 5; petals 5, pale green, often suffused with purple, round, 2–3 mm diam.; stamens 5; ovary spiny. |
sepals 4; petals 4, yellowish green or white, oblong, 2–3 × 1.5–2 mm; stamens 4; ovary smooth. |
Capsules | pink, subglobose, 10–12 mm diam., unlobed or very shallowly 4–5-lobed, lobes clearly connate, surface spiny. |
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 | subglobose, 4.5–5.5 mm; aril bright orange. |
ellipsoid, 7–8 × 4–5 mm; aril yellow or orange. |
2n | = 64. |
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Euonymus obovatus |
Euonymus alatus |
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Phenology | Flowering spring; fruiting summer–fall. | Flowering spring–fall; fruiting summer–fall. |
Habitat | Rich, dry, or moist woods. | Roadsides, old fields, thickets, woodlands. |
Elevation | 100–1000 m. (300–3300 ft.) | 0–400 m. (0–1300 ft.) |
Distribution |
AR; GA; IL; IN; KY; MI; MO; NC; NY; OH; PA; SC; TN; WV; ON
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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]
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Discussion | Euonymus obovatus can be difficult to separate from E. americanus, but the rooting stems of E. obovatus clearly differentiate them. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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. 124. | FNA vol. 12, p. 125. |
Parent taxa | Celastraceae > Euonymus | Celastraceae > Euonymus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | E. americanus var. obovatus | Celastrus alatus, E. alatus var. apterus |
Name authority | Nuttall: Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 1: 155. (1818) | (Thunberg) Siebold: Verh. Batav. Genootsch. Kunst. 12: 49. (1830) — (as Evonimus) |
Web links |