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Adansonia digitata
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October 28, 2009 : Euonymus alatus
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Plant Family / Families: Celastraceae
Scientific Name and Author: Euonymus alatus (Thund.) Siebold
Institution: University of British Columbia
Name Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Lindsay wrote today's entry:
Thank you to my fellow classmate Nell Gasiewicz for snapping these pictures on our weekly plant walk.
Commonly known as burning bush or winged euonymus for its corky "wings", Euonymus alatus was introduced to the US from Asia around 1860 for use as an ornamental shrub. In fact, people were so taken by its striking autumn colour that highway departments and parkway planters across the northeastern United States used Euonymus alatus as a divider in hedges and as foundation plantings. By the 1960s, burning bush had escaped cultivation and is now considered an invasive species in some of these areas, crowding out and outcompeting native species in the woodlands of New Hampshire, Connecticut and Virginia, along with parts of Pennsylvania and Illinois.
The good news for some locations, however, is that Euonymus alatus is not considered invasive in an urban context or in wet climates where the seeds are likely to rot before germinating.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at October 28, 2009 3:49 PM
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Comments
Posted by: Charles Hines at October 28, 2009 4:32 PM
Ow, gorgeous reds. Whee!!
Posted by: Meg Bernstein at October 28, 2009 5:15 PM
oh these are beautiful! i LOVE fall!
Posted by: kate at October 28, 2009 5:20 PM
Gorgeous colour -- love that soft, bluey red.
Posted by: Mary Ann, in Toronto at October 28, 2009 7:11 PM
The pictures of euonymus,with its strikingly magnificent red is simply beautiful.Thank you
Posted by: sresan at October 28, 2009 7:38 PM
The branch looks like a stick insect in the second photo!
Posted by: Sue Webster at October 29, 2009 12:12 AM
You guys are seeing RED???
On my monitor these leaves are bright, bright coral PINK! Beautiful, but really pink.
Posted by: AdoAnnie at October 29, 2009 4:04 AM
I realize the second photo was intended to show the corky wings on the twigs, but it appears that the color is a bit off and the stem looks wrinkled and deflated. Is it dead? The fall color can be stunning though and Euonymus is one of the most requested shrubs in our nursery each fall.
Posted by: Ryan at October 29, 2009 6:01 AM
the burning bush from
childhood memories and stories
yes the screens show differnt
colors and our eyes may see
colors in a differnt manner
the twig well i see a mantis
but then i wear trifocals
fine pictures lovely october postings
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at October 29, 2009 7:04 AM
Here in central Pennsylvania it is indeed a seed-driven invasive. And, sadly, the flowers that precede all those seeds are hardly even noticeable. I think of burning bush and Rose of Sharon as the perilla of the shrub world. Beautiful in the fall, briefly, but beware!
Posted by: Deb at October 29, 2009 7:31 AM
I'm wondering, are the photos of two different plants? Apterus means wingless, so var. apterus is the first photo?
I enjoy it all, thanks for your efforts.
Mark
Posted by: Mark at October 29, 2009 7:35 AM
Charles (in Ohio),
Re: the Czech site. If you click on the little British flag icon near the top of the page you can get the site in English.
Posted by: Claire B (Saskatoon) at October 29, 2009 10:18 AM
Good question, Mark -- I'll point that out to Lindsay.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at October 29, 2009 12:44 PM
Mark, I've communicated with Lindsay. That was a transposition error when she was researching the authors for the name. I've made the corrections, as it is indeed not that variety.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin at October 29, 2009 2:06 PM
"The good news for some locations, however, is that Euonymus alatus is not considered invasive in an urban context or in wet climates where the seeds are likely to rot before germinating".
I don't believe that to be true at all! Euonymus alatus is a way over-used landscape plant here in and around the Spokane, WA area, but hasn't become a problem re-seeder here. The annual precipitation for our area is an average 17 inches which is hardly a wet climate. There must be another reason for it. Maybe our local bird populations find other seeds and berries more attractive than those in the eastern states and mid-west (also a problem there)? It's baffling to me.
Posted by: Vera Moore at October 29, 2009 4:34 PM
Daniel,
Another common name I heard in the southeast many years ago was winged wahoo, which always resulted in a chuckle from students.
Posted by: Bruce Dancik at October 30, 2009 9:14 AM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Hi Daniel,
Thanks for posting the link to the Czech botany POD the other day. I can't read Czech, but the pictures are great. And today they posted a series of photos of the UBC botanical garden! Really beautiful! I'm used to seeing a lot of close-ups from the garden, but if was really nice to see the bigger pictures. I hope I can see it myself sometime.
I always enjoy the BPOD.
Charles Hines
Waldo, Ohio