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Euonymus fortunei

(Redirected from Wintercreeper)

Euonymus fortunei, the spindle, Fortune's spindle, winter creeper or wintercreeper, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to east Asia, including China, Korea, the Philippines and Japan.[2] E. fortunei is highly invasive and damaging in the United States, causing the death of trees and forest in urban areas.[3]

Euonymus fortunei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Celastrales
Family: Celastraceae
Genus: Euonymus
Species:
E. fortunei
Binomial name
Euonymus fortunei
Synonyms[1]
  • Cassine fortunei (Turcz.) Kuntze
  • Elaeodendron fortunei Turcz., nom. cons.

Description

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It is an evergreen shrub which grows as a vine if provided with support. As such it grows to 20 m (66 ft), climbing by means of small rootlets on the stems, similar to ivy (an example of convergent evolution, as the two species are not related). Like ivy, it also has a sterile non-flowering juvenile climbing or creeping phase, which on reaching high enough into the crowns of trees to get more light, develops into an adult, flowering phase without climbing rootlets.

The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, elliptic to elliptic-ovate, 2–6 cm long and 1–3 cm broad, with finely serrated margins. The flowers are inconspicuous, 5 mm in diameter, with four small greenish-yellow petals. The fruit is a smooth, dehiscent capsule with reddish arils.[4]

Euonymus fortunei is very similar to Euonymus japonicus, particularly in cultivation. In the wild, E. fortunei is climbing or procumbent whereas E. japonicus has an erect habit.[5]

Taxonomy

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The species was described in 1863 as Elaeodendron fortunei by Nikolai Turczaninow,[6] who named it in honour of the Scottish botanist and plant explorer Robert Fortune.[7] The species had already been described as Euonymus hederaceus in 1851; Turczaninow's name is conserved against this earlier name.[8][2] It was transferred from Elaeodendron to the genus Euonymus in 1933 by Heinrich von Handel-Mazzetti.[6][9]

Varieties

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As of August 2024, Plants of the World Online accepted two varieties:[1]

  • Euonymus fortunei var. fortunei – many synonyms including E. fortunei var. radicans, E. radicans; native throughout the range of the species[10]
  • Euonymus fortunei var. villosus (Nakai) H.Hara – Japan[11]

Distribution and habitat

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It has an extensive native range, including many parts of China (from sea level to 3400 m elevation), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.[2] It has also been introduced to North America as an ornamental, and is considered an invasive species throughout much of the Eastern United States.[12][13] It resembles Euonymus japonicus, which is also widely cultivated but is a shrub, without climbing roots.[14] It also is related to a variety of similar species, including Euonymus theifolius, or Euonymus vagans and also a number of named "species" which are found only in cultivation and better treated as cultivars.[2] Its habitats include woodlands, scrub, and forests.[2]

Cultivation

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Euonymus fortunei is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, with numerous cultivars selected for such traits as yellow, variegated and slow, dwarfed growth. It is used as a groundcover or a vine to climb walls and trees. The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:[15]

  • 'Emerald Gaiety'[16]
  • 'Emerald 'n' Gold'[17]
  • 'Emerald Surprise'[18]
  • 'Kewensis'[19]
  • 'Wolong Ghost'[20]

Plants propagated from mature flowering stems (formerly sometimes named "f. carrierei") always grow as non-climbing shrubs. Some popular cultivars such as 'Moon Shadow' are shrub forms.

Most of the cultivated plants belong to var. radicans (Huxley 1992). It is generally considered cold hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9, and is considered an invasive species in some parts of the world, notably the eastern United States[21][22] and Canada.[23]

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  •  
    Flowers on a mature vine
  •  
    Fruit
  •  
    Showing its orange berries
  •  
    The variegated cultivar 'Emerald 'n Gold'
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    Cultivar 'Emerald Gaiety'

References

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  1. ^ a b "Euonymus fortunei (Turcz.) Hand.-Mazz." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Euonymus fortunei (Turczaninow) Handel-Mazzetti". Flora of China. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  3. ^ "You Should Be Concerned When This Plant Goes Vertical". Missouri invade plants task force. August 15, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  4. ^ Zouhar, Kris (2009). "Euonymus fortunei. In: Fire Effects Information System". U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  5. ^ Ma, Jin-shuang & Funston, Michele. "Euonymus japonicus". In Wu, Zhengyi; Raven, Peter H. & Hong, Deyuan (eds.). Flora of China (online). eFloras.org. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  6. ^ a b "Euonymus fortunei". Australian Plant Name Index, IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  7. ^ Turczaninow, P.K.N.S. (1863). "Eleodendron Fortunei". Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou. 36 (1): 602.
  8. ^ "Elaeodendron fortunei Turcz." International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  9. ^ Handel-Mazzetti, H. (1933). Symbolae Sinicae, Botanische Ergebnisse der Expedition der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien nach Sudwest-China 1914/1918. Vol. 7. p. 660.
  10. ^ "Euonymus fortunei var. fortunei". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  11. ^ "Euonymus fortunei var. villosus (Nakai) H.Hara". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  12. ^ "Winter Creeper | University of Maryland Extension". extension.umd.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  13. ^ "Wintercreeper Control". Missouri Department of Conservation. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  14. ^ "Euonymus japonicus Thunberg". Flora of China.
  15. ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 37. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  16. ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald Gaiety'". Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  17. ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald 'n' Gold'". Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  18. ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald Surprise'". Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Euonymus fortunei 'Kewensis'". RHS. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Euonymus fortunei 'Wolong Ghost'". RHS. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Profile for Euonymus fortunei (Turcz.) Hand.-Maz. var. radicans (Siebold ex Miq.) Rehder (winter creeper)". PLANTS Database. USDA, NRCS. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  22. ^ Swearingen, J.; K. Reshetiloff; B. Slattery & S. Zwicker (2002). "Creeping Euonymus". Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas. National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
  23. ^ "Euonymus fortunei (wintercreeper)". Invasive Species Compendium. Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International.
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