''Euonymus occidentalis'' is a species of spindle tree known by the common names western burning bush and western wahoo.

Distribution

It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, where it is the only member of its genus growing wild.

Description

This is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

or small tree reaching maximum heights of anywhere from two to six meters. The thin, green, oval-shaped leaves are three to fourteen centimeters long and sometimes rolled under along the edges. The inflorescence holds up to five small flowers at the end of a long

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

. Each flower has five rounded pink to brown and white mottled petals around a central nectar disc with 5 nubs. The fruit is a rounded capsule with three bulging lobes. It opens to reveal one seed in each of the three lobes. The seed in concealed in a red

aril An aril (pronounced ), also called an arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode or false aril is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the see ...

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4117747

occidentalis This list of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names is intended to help those unfamiliar with classical languages to understand and remember the scientific names of organisms. The binomial nomenclature used for animals and plants i ...

Flora of British Columbia Flora without expected TNC conservation status