Euonymus alatus (Thunb.) Siebold
Burning bush, winged spindle, winged euonymus
Burning bush, so-called for its brilliant red fall foliage, is a native of northeastern Asia. It was introduced to North America in the 1860s as an ornamental plant. It spreads rapidly and is now classified as an invasive.
Plants: This shrub grows up to 10′ (3 m) tall. Branches have unusual “wings”—fourbrown corklike protrusions running the length of each branch. This is the easiest way to identify this euonymus.
Leaves: Leaves are ovate-elliptic, 1–3″ (2.5–7.6 cm) long, and about ½–¾″ (1.3–1.9 cm) wide. Bright red or red-purple in the fall.
Flowers: Flowers are inconspicuous.
Fruits: Berries are oval in shape, sharply pointed at each end, and bright red-orange, encased in a capsule that may be yellow, pink, purple, or orange.
Habitats: Forests, woodlands, and scrublands from sea level to an elevation of 1.7 mi (2.7 km).
Edibility: Poisonous 
All parts of this plant are toxic if ingested.
Online References:
Euonymus alata (Thunb.) Siebold， orth. var.
10/13/2008 · Maine 
10/22/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 15 × 10″ (39 × 26 cm) 
9/13/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm) 
9/13/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm) 
10/22/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm) 
9/13/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 12″ (20 × 31 cm) 
7/26/2025 · River Point Conservation Area, Falmouth, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (16 × 11 cm) 
10/25/2024 · River Point Conservation Area, Falmouth, Maine 
5/21/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm) 
5/30/2014 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 16 cm) 
10/22/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm) 
5/30/2014 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 5″ (14 × 13 cm) 
7/26/2025 · River Point Conservation Area, Falmouth, Maine · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm) 
10/31/2024 · Dr. Hoffert's Land, Selkirk, New York 
11/9/2012 · By Jacquelyn Boyt 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Celastrales | About 1300 varied mostly tropical and subtropical plants |
| Family | Celastraceae | Staff vine or bittersweet family of vines, shrubs and small trees |
| Genus | Euonymus | From the Greek eu, “good,” and onoma, “a name” |
| Species | alatus | Winged |
Euonymus alatus description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.