Japanese spindle tree
Euonymus japonicus
Its wood is exceptionally hard and fine-grained, historically used in Japan to carve wooden spindles for spinning thread.
- Scientific name
- Euonymus japonicus
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Celastrales › Celastraceae › Euonymus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Coastal forests, scrublands, and cultivated gardens.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (Photosynthesis)
- Range
- Japan, Korea, China
- Size
- Shrub or small tree growing up to 2-8 meters tall.
- Lifespan
- 50-100 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Scale insects, powdery mildew, and habitat fragmentation in its native coastal range.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to touch, but all parts of the plant, especially the orange seeds, are toxic if ingested. Keep pets and children from eating the berries. If ingested, seek medical attention immediately.
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 2–8 m (6 ft 7 in–26 ft 3 in) tall, with opposite, oval leaves 3–7 cm long with finely serrated margins. The flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-white, 5 mm diameter. In autumn, orange fruit hangs below the flaring pink seed coverings.
Photo: Jacqui Geux, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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