''Euonymus'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the staff vine family,

Celastraceae The Celastraceae (staff-vine or bittersweet) are a family of 97 genera and 1,350 species of herbs, vines, shrubs and small trees, belonging to the order Celastrales. The great majority of the genera are tropical, with only ''Celastrus'' (the sta ...

. Common names vary widely among different species and between different English-speaking countries, but include spindle (or spindle tree), burning-bush, strawberry-bush, wahoo, wintercreeper, or simply euonymus. It comprises about 130 species''Euonymus''.
Flora of China.Du, C., et al. (2013)
Revision of three species of ''Euonymus'' (Celastraceae) from China.
''Phytotaxa'' 109(1) 45-53. of

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

and

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

shrubs, small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s and lianas. They are mostly native to East Asia, extending to the Himalayas,''Botanica: The Illustrated A-Z of over 10000 Garden Plants and How to Cultivate Them''. Könemann, 2004. pg. 358. and they are also distributed in Europe, Australasia, North America, and Madagascar. 50 species are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to China.

Description

The inconspicuous flowers occur in small groups, and can be green, yellow, pink or maroon in color depending on species. The leaves are opposite (rarely alternate) and simple ovoid, typically 2–15 cm long, and usually with a finely serrated margin. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a pink or white four- or five-valved pod-like berry, which splits open to reveal the fleshy-coated orange or red

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s. The seeds are eaten by frugivorous birds, which digest the fleshy seed coat and disperse the seeds in their droppings. Many species are used for medicinal use, and parts of the plants can be

poisonous Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

Cultivation and uses

The

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

of some species was traditionally used for the making of spindles for spinning wool;Clapham, A. R. (1975). ''The Oxford Book of Trees''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.31. this use is the origin of the British English name of the shrubs. Euonymus are popular garden shrubs, grown for their foliage, the deciduous species often exhibiting very bright red autumnal colours, and also for the decorative berries. However,

Euonymus alatus ''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. The common name "burning bush" comes fr ...

(winged euonymus or burning-bush) is considered an invasive species in the woodlands of the northeastern United States.

Diversity

Euonymus plants growing in New Jersey in April

Species include:''Euonymus'' Species List.
''Germplasm Resources Information Network''. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2013-07-04.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q161113 Celastrales genera