Euonymus alatus
| Euonymus alatus | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Celastrales |
| Family: | Celastraceae |
| Genus: | Euonymus |
| Species: | E. alatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Euonymus alatus | |
Euonymus alatus, known variously as burning bush, winged euonymus, winged spindle, and winged spindle-tree,[1] is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to central and northern China, Japan, and Korea.
It is a popular ornamental plant in gardens and parks due to its bright pink or orange fruit and attractive fall color: The common name "burning bush" refers to its bright red fall color. The cultivars 'Compactus'[2] and 'Fire Ball'[3] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[4]
Description
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This deciduous shrub grows to 6.1 m (20 ft) tall, often wider than tall. As with the related Euonymus phellomanus, the stems are notable for their four corky ridges or "wings". The word alatus (or alata, used formerly) is Latin for "winged," in reference to the winged branches. These structures develop from a cork cambium deposited in longitudinal grooves in the twigs' first year, unlike similar wings in other plants such as Quercus macrocarpa.[5] The leaves are 2–7 cm (3⁄4–2+3⁄4 in) long and 1–4 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄2 in) broad, ovate-elliptic, with an acute apex. The flowers are greenish, borne over a long period in the spring. The fruit is a red aril enclosed by a four-lobed pink, yellow, or orange capsule
All parts of the plant are toxic by ingestion, causing severe discomfort.[6]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]Euonymus alatus′s native distribution extends from northeastern Asia to central China.[1][7] Besides central and eastern China, Euonymus alatus also appears in Korea, in Japan, and on the island of Sakhalin in Russia.[8] In its native areas, it occurs in forests, woodlands, and scrublands from sea level to an elevation of 8,900 ft (2,700 m).[8]
Euonymus alatus is not native to North America. It was first introduced in the United States in the 1860s[1] and is found in New England and from Illinois south to northern Florida and the United States Gulf Coast.[9] It also is found in southeastern Canada.[10]
Uses
[edit]Generally cultivated for its ornamental qualities, attraction to wildlife, and ability to adapt to urban and suburban environments,[1] the shrub commonly is used in foundation planting, hedges, and along highways and commercial strips.[11] Sales across the United States are in the tens of millions of dollars every year.[11]
The corky winged stems are used in traditional Chinese and traditional Korean medicine to treat conditions such as cancer, hyperglycemia, and diabetic complications.[12] Chemicals that have been isolated from the plant include flavonoids, terpenoids, steroids, lignans, cardenolides, phenolic acids, and alkaloids.[12]
Invasive species
[edit]Euonymus alatus is regarded as an invasive species of woodlands in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada, where it can outcompete native vegetation and disrupt local ecosystems.[10][13] It is currently[when?] considered an invasive species in 21 U.S. states,[citation needed] and its importation and sale is prohibited in the U.S. states of Maine,[14] Massachusetts,[15] New Hampshire,[16] Pennsylvania,[citation needed] and Vermont.[17]
Dr. Thomas Ranney of North Carolina State University at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station in Mills River, North Carolina, developed a new seedless cultivar named Fire Ball Seedless (Euonymus alatus NCEA1) which became available to wholesale growers in the spring of 2024 as the first seedless cultivar of the shrub on the market.[10][18] Seedless cultivars could allow the phasing out of sales of seeded versions of the shrub and reduce its tendency to spread invasively.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Wenning, Bruce (13 April 2012). "Winged Euonymus: An Exotic Invasive Plant Fact Sheet". Ecological Landscape Alliance. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ "Euonymus alatus 'Compactus' AGM". RHS Gardening. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ "Euonymus elatus 'Fire Ball'". RHS. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 37. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ Bowen, William R. (1963). "Origin and Development of Winged Cork in Euonymus alatus". Botanical Gazette. Vol. 124, no. 4. pp. 256–261.
- ^ "Euonymus alatus". RHS. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ Fryer, Janet L. "Euonymus alatus. In: Fire Effects Information System". U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Fire Sciences Laboratory. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ a b "Flora of China Project". Flora of China. eFloras.org/ Beijing: Science Press; St. Louis, MO: Missouri Botanical Garden Press.
- ^ Kartesz, John T (1999). "A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland". Kartesz, John T.; Meacham, Christopher A. Synthesis of the North American Flora. North Carolina Botanical Garden. In Cooperation with: The Nature Conservancy; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service; U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 1st.
- ^ a b c d "Spring Meadow Nursery unveils first seedless burning bush". Greenhouse Product News Oct. 13, 2023.
- ^ a b "Sterile Variety of Invasive 'Burning Bush' Developed". Farm progress. University of Connecticut. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- ^ a b Zhai, Xifeng; et al. (2016). "Euonymus alatus: A Review on Its Phytochemistry and Antidiabetic Activity". Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2016: 9425714: 1–12. doi:10.1155/2016/9425714. PMC 5014951. PMID 27642361.
- ^ Swearingen, J.; Slattery, B.; Reshetiloff, K. (2002). "Winged Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus)". Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas. National Park Service and United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
- ^ "Burning Bush". Invasive Plants. Maine Natural Areas Program. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
- ^ "Massachusetts Prohibited Plant List". Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Fact Sheet: Prohibited Invasive Plant Species Rules, Agr 3800" (PDF). New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food. 2017-01-31. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
- ^ "Noxious Weeds" (PDF). Quarantine #3: Noxious Weeds. Vermont Agency of Agriculture. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
- ^ "Breeding Non-Invasive Nursery Crops" (PDF). International Plant Propagator's Society Combined Proceedings Volume 57
Further reading
[edit]
- Rhoads, A. F.; Block, T. A. (2000). The Plants of Pennsylvania. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-3535-5.