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Euonymus europaeus
Also called European spindletree, Spindletree, European spindle tree, Spindle tree, Skewer wood, Spindleberry, Common spindle tree
Spindle (Euonymus europaeus) is a deciduous shrub or small tree native to Europe and the Caucasus, valued for its pink-to-purple autumn fruits and autumn leaf colour. It tolerates shade and chalky soils, and is grown mainly as a hedge or garden ornamental.
Euonymus europaeus, the spindle, European spindle, or common spindle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to much of Europe, where it inhabits the edges of forest, hedges and gentle slopes, tending to thrive on nutrient-rich, chalky and salt-poor soils. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree.
It is a popular ornamental plant in gardens and parks due to its bright pink or purple fruits and attractive autumn colouring.
In cultivation in the UK, the cultivar 'Red Cascade' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
E. europaeus occurs as an understorey shrub or small tree primarily in old hedgerows, open woodland clearings and margins, and scrubland on base-rich or calcareous soils. However, it is also shade-tolerant. It rarely invades open habitats such as grasslands unless abundant hedges are present In Ireland, it can also be found growing on rocky limestone outcrops, rocky lake shores and limestone pavements.
Burningbush · Burningbush · Fleshy Flowered Spindle Tree · Euonymus cornutus · Winter creeper · Hamilton's spindletree · Japanese spindletree · Large Leaved Spindle · Korean Spindle Tree · Corktree · Siberian Spindletree
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Euonymus europaeus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
