Euonymus europaeus

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Euonymus europaeus
Light:Full Sun Part Shade
Moisture:Xeric Mesic
Hardiness:3
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Height:20'
Blooms:Late Spring-Early Summer
Open Woods Forest
Native to:
Edible Rating:PFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating:PFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal Rating
Tea:Yes
Poisonous

Euonymus europaeus (common name: spindle tree)

Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 8 - 12 weeks warm followed by 8 - 16 weeks cold stratification and can then be sown in a cold frame[1]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.

One report says that the seed can be sown in an outdoors seedbed in early spring with good results[2]. Grow the seedlings on for two years in the seedbed before planting them out into their permanent positions.

Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm long taken at a node or with a heel, July/August in a frame. Very easy[2].

Cuttings of mature wood, November in a frame[3].

Layering in July/August. Takes 14 months[2].

Cultivation: An easily grown plant, it thrives in almost any soil, including chalk, and is particularly suited to dry shaded areas[4]. Prefers a well-drained loamy soil[5]. If cultivated for its latex it is best grown in a dry open position[6].

A very cold-hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -25°c[7].

A very ornamental plant, there are many named varieties[8].

This species is often damaged by caterpillars during the flowering season[8]. It is a favoured home for blackfly, so should not be grown near broad beans[9].

Range: Europe, including Britain, from Sweden suth and east to Spain, the Caucasus and W. Asia.

Habitat: Woods, scrub and hedges, usually on calcareous soils[10][11].

Edibility: An edible yellow dye is obtained from the fruit and seed[12][13][14][15]. Pink from the fruit case, orange from the seed[16]. These reports should be treated with some caution since many members of this genus are poisonous.

One report suggests that the plant is a source of a manna[15], there are no further details.

Medicinal: The bark is alterative, cholagogue, hepatic, laxative, stimulant and tonic[17][18]. The root bark is the part normally used, though bark from the stems is sometimes employed as a substitute[17]. In small doses it stimulates the appetite, in larger doses it irritates the intestines[17]. The bark is especially useful in the treatment of liver disorders which follow or accompany fevers[17].

The seeds are strongly emetic and purgative[17].

The fresh leaves, and the dried fruit and seeds, are used externally to treat scabies, lice (head, body or pubic), ticks and other skin parasites[19].

Usage: The whole plant yields a volatile oil that is used in soap making[20][12]. Other reports say that the oil is obtained from the seed[12][13][14][21]. It is possible that there are two oils, an essential oil from the plant and an oil from the seed[K].

A good yellow dye is obtained from the fleshy coating around the seeds[17]. This becomes green with the addition of alum, but unfortunately both colours are rather fugitive[17].

The baked and powdered berries are used to remove lice from the hair[22][23][24], they are also used as an insecticide[25]. The leaves are used[21].

Roots yield up to 4% gutta-percha, a non elastic rubber used as an electrical insulation and for making plastics[6].

Wood - very hard, easily split, fine-grained, not durable[17][22][20][12]. Used for spindles, skewers, knitting needles, toothpicks, carving etc[22][26][14]. A high quality charcoal is obtained from the wood, it is used by artists[12][6][14][21].

Pollinators: Insects

Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.

Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.

Seed Ripens: Early Fall-Late Fall

Flower Type: Hermaphrodite

Known Hazards: Poisonous. No further details.

Links

References

  1. ↑ Gordon, A and D Rowe. Seed Manual for Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. 1982.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
  3. ↑ Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
  4. ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
  5. ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Komarov, Vladimir. Flora of the USSR. Gantner Verlag, 1968.
  7. ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Shrubs. Pan Books, 1989.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
  9. ↑ Royal Horticultural Society. The Plantsman Vol. 3. 1981 - 1982. Royal Horticultural Society, 1981.
  10. ↑ Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
  11. ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Heywood, Vernon. Flowering Plants of the World. Oxford University Press.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
  16. ↑ Carruthers, S. Alternative Enterprises for Agriculture in the UK. Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Univ. of Reading, 1986.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 17.7 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
  18. ↑ Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
  19. ↑ Stuart, Malcolm. The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism. Orbis Publishing, 1979.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Sowerby, John. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 1862.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Mabey, Richard. Plants with a Purpose. Fontana, 1979.
  23. ↑ Stary, Frantisek. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn, 1983.
  24. ↑ Freethy, Ron. From Agar to Zenery. The Crowood Press, 1985.
  25. ↑ Bryan, John and Coralie Castle. Edible Ornamental Garden. Pitman Publishing, 1976.
  26. ↑ Polunin, Oleg. Flowers of Europe. Oxford University Press, 1969.


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