Spindle Tree

Latin Name :- Euonymus europaeus

This is one of our native plants, tolerating even chalky soils. The Spindle Tree is actually a shrub, although it can make what appears to be a small tree. Seen here in the early stages of the Winter, its leaves are gone, and the red glow on it are produced by the remaining fruit.

The leaf is a typical ‘leaf’ shape or elliptic. It has an ”entire” margin and is not serrated, and is quite a dark green. Newly growing stems are also green, and older stems sometimes produce corky ‘wings’. The white flowers give way to spectacularly gaudy fruit later on.

So the moral of the story is that if you want to be noticed, wear scarlet and orange.

So all in all, this native shrub turns out to be a real showoff. It also proves that you don’t necessarily have to buy exotic plants to make a statement. Plant a hedge of this and brighten up the neighbourhood – I dare you !