Euonymus

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iSpindle
European Spindle foliage and fruit
European Spindle foliage and fruit
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Celastrales
Family: Celastraceae
Genus: Euonymus
L.
Species

See text

The spindles, genus Euonymus, comprise about 170-180 species of deciduous and evergreen shrubs and small trees. They have a wide distribution in Europe, Asia, Australasia, North America and Madagascar.

Mature Spindle fruit, after splitting open to reveal the seeds
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Mature Spindle fruit, after splitting open to reveal the seeds

The leaves are opposite (rarely alternate) and simple ovoid, typically 2-15 cm long, and usually with a finely serrated margin. The flowers are small, usually greenish white and inconspicuous.

The fruit is a pink-red four- or five- valved pod-like berry, which splits open to reveal the fleshy-coated orange seeds. The seeds are eaten by frugivorous birds, which digest the fleshy seed coat and disperse the seeds in their droppings. All parts of the plants are poisonous to humans if eaten.

Selected species
  • Euonymus alatus - Winged Spindle
  • Euonymus americanus - Strawberry-bush
  • Euonymus aquifolium
  • Euonymus atropurpureus - Eastern Burning-bush
  • Euonymus bungeanus
  • Euonymus chinensis
  • Euonymus cornutus
  • Euonymus echinatus
  • Euonymus europaeus - European Spindle
  • Euonymus fimbriatus
  • Euonymus fortunei - Fortune's Spindle
  • Euonymus frigidus
  • Euonymus glaber
  • Euonymus grandiflorus
  • Euonymus hamiltonianus
  • Euonymus ilicifolius
  • Euonymus japonicus - Japanese Spindle
  • Euonymus kiautschovicus
  • Euonymus lanceolatus
  • Euonymus latifolius
  • Euonymus lucidus
  • Euonymus macropterus
  • Euonymus melananthus
  • Euonymus monbeigii
  • Euonymus myrianthus
  • Euonymus nanoides
  • Euonymus nanus
  • Euonymus obovatus - Running Strawberry-bush
  • Euonymus occidentalis - Western Burning-bush
  • Euonymus oresbius
  • Euonymus oxyphyllus
  • Euonymus pauciflorus
  • Euonymus phellomanus
  • Euonymus planipes
  • Euonymus sachalinensis
  • Euonymus sanguineus
  • Euonymus semenovii
  • Euonymus tingens
  • Euonymus velutinus
  • Euonymus verrucosoides
  • Euonymus verrucosus
  • Euonymus wilsonii

[edit] Cultivation and uses

A variegated cultivar of Euonymus fortunei
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A variegated cultivar of Euonymus fortunei

The wood was traditionally used for the making of spindles for spinning wool; this use is the origin of the English name of the shrubs.

Spindles are popular garden shrubs, grown for their foliage, the deciduous species often exhibiting very bright red fall colours, and also for the decorative berries.

Fall foliage of Winged Spindle (Euonymus alatus)
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Fall foliage of Winged Spindle (Euonymus alatus)
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