CELASTRACEAE 



STAFF TREE FAMILY 



BURNING BUSH. WAAHOO 



Euonymus atropurpureus J acq. 



The Burning Bush or Waahoo is a shrub or small tree 6-26 

 feet high, which has greenish 4-angled twigs. It is found mostly 

 in open woods from Ontario to Florida and westward to Mon- 

 tana, Nebraska and 

 Oklahoma. 



Because of the 

 numerous dark pur- 

 ple flowers that open 

 in June and the bril- 

 liant scarlet fruits 

 that mature in aut- 

 umn, the Burning 

 Bush is highly recom- 

 mended for planting 

 as an ornamental 

 shrub. The flower 

 usually has 4 sepals 

 united at the base, 

 and 4 purple petals. 

 The 4 stamens are 



attached to the 4-angled disk that is stretched from the calyx 

 over the ovary. The style is very short or lacking. 



The crimson fruit is a 4-lobed pod with i or 2 seeds in each 

 lobe. Each seed is enclosed in a bright red outgrowth or pulp 

 called an aril, and when the pod bursts these arils are exposed 

 and so increase the beauty of the display. The fruits hang on 

 nearly all winter unless eaten by birds. 



The Running Strawberry Bush or Creeping Waahoo, Euonymus 

 obovatus Nutt., is another species common in moist woods through- 

 out the state. It is a low trailing shrub which roots from the branches 

 and seldom rises more than i foot from the ground. The obovate 

 or oblong leaves are thin and dull. The parts of the greenish flowers, 

 which bloom in April and May, are usually in fives. The petals do 

 not have a distinct claw. The crimson fruits are rough with warts 

 on the outside. This is a good plant to use for covering the ground 

 under trees, since it can grow in the shade and forms dense mats. 

 The plant is known trom western Ontario to Pennsylvania, Ken- 

 tucky and Illinois. 



187 



