''Euonymus fortunei'', the spindle, Fortune's spindle, winter creeper or wintercreeper, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Celastraceae,

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to east Asia, including China, Korea, the Philippines and Japan. It is named after the Scottish botanist and plant explorer

Robert Fortune Robert Fortune (16 September 1812 – 13 April 1880) was a Scottish botanist, plant hunter and traveller, best known for introducing around 250 new ornamental plants, mainly from China, but also Japan, into the gardens of Britain, Australia, a ...

. ''E. fortunei'' is highly invasive and damaging in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, causing the death of trees and forest in urban areas.

Description

It is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

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 ...

which grows as a

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

if provided with support. As such it grows to , climbing by means of small rootlets on the stems, similar to

ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

(an example of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

, 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 A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are arranged in opposite pairs, elliptic to elliptic-ovate, 2–6 cm long and 1–3 cm broad, with finely serrated margins. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are inconspicuous, 5 mm in diameter, with four small greenish-yellow petals. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a smooth, dehiscent capsule with reddish

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 ...

Varieties

There are two or three

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

: *''Euonymus fortunei'' var. ''fortunei'' (syn. var. ''acutus''). China, Korea *''Euonymus fortunei'' var. ''radicans'' (Sieb. ex Miq.) Rehd. (syn. ''E. radicans''). Japan *''Euonymus fortunei'' var. ''vegetus'' (Rehd.) Rehd. Northern Japan (

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

), doubtfully distinct from var. ''radicans'' (Bean 1973)

Distribution and habitat

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. It resembles ''

Euonymus japonicus ''Euonymus japonicus'' (evergreen spindle or Japanese spindle) is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to Japan, Korea and China. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing to tall, with opposite, oval leaves 3� ...

'', which is also widely cultivated but is a shrub, without climbing roots. 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. Its habitats include woodlands, scrub, and forests.

Cultivation

''Euonymus fortunei'' is widely cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

, with numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s selected for such traits as yellow,

variegated Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the leaves and sometimes the stems and fruit of plants. Species with variegated individuals are sometimes found in the understory of tropical rainforests, and this habitat is the s ...

and slow, dwarfed growth. It is used as a

groundcover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought. In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as t ...

or a vine to climb walls and trees. The following cultivars have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

: *'Emerald Gaiety' *'Emerald 'n' Gold' *'Emerald Surprise' *'Kewensis' *'Wolong Ghost' Plants propagated from mature flowering stems (formerly sometimes named "f. ''carrierei''") always grow as non-climbing

s. 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 An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

in some parts of the world, notably the eastern United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Gallery

Image:Euonymus Fortunei Fruit.jpg, The fruit File:Euonymus fortunei 1.JPG, Flowers on a mature vine Image:Euonymus fortunei a1.jpg, The variegated cultivar 'Emerald 'n Gold' File:Celastrales - Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald Gaiety' - 1.jpg, Cultivar 'Emerald Gaiety' File:Winter Creeper, Euonymus fortunei, showing its orange berries.jpg, Winter Creeper, ''Euonymus fortunei'', showing its orange berries

References

External links

*Bean, W. J. (1973) ''Trees and Shrubs hardy in the British Isles'' 8th ed., vol. 2: 150-151. John Murray. *Huxley, A., ed. (1992) ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening'' vol. 2: 242. Macmillan. * {{Taxonbar, from=Q159331 fortunei Flora of China Flora of Japan Flora of Korea Garden plants