The true Euonymus Steboldianus, Known to nurserymen as &, Yeddoensis. Pink cap- 
sules, orange berries and grayish-brown seeds which are not always covered 
The berries of this species remain attractive a long while. E. Bungeanus. Fruit 
: pinkish. Seeds whitish or pinkish 
Every Euonymus Worth Growing—By John Dunbar and Wilhelm Miller 
THE APTLY NAMED ‘‘BURNING BUSHES,’’ WHOSE EXTRAORDINARY TWO-COLORED BERRIES GIVE LIFE AND 
BEAUTY IN THE DEAD OF WINTER—ALSO AN 
EVERGREEN VINE THAT IS HARDIER THAN ENGLISH IVY 
{Nore—This is the fourteenth of a series of “Little Monographs” which consti‘ute a protest against the universal habit of describing one species after another in alpha- 
betscal order, using high-sounding botanical phrases and never telling what good a plant 1s. 
the “key” or purchaser's guide shows at a glance the comparative merits of each species, instead of prating about oblanceolate leaves and hairs on the stamens. 
In this series the aim 1s to give vivid pen portraits of plant personalities, and 
Who would 
like to study in this spirit irises, day lilies, species of peony, perennial lupines, asters, sedums? We can furnish the photographs and botany, tf you will grow the plants 
and take notes.| 
NYONE who wishes to make his home 
grounds more cheerful and attractive 
in the dead of winter should have a collection 
of “burning bushes.” Because of the aston- 
ishing brilliancy of their berries and their 
peculiar two-colored effect, one does not care 
for great masses of them. But nothing could 
be more entertaining than to have one of 
each kind. There are thirteen species worth 
having, and the entire collection would only 
cost about ten dollars. It ought to furnish 
about $100 worth of solid satisfaction during 
the dark and trying days of winter. 
These burning bushes have the same sort 
of berry as the bitter-sweet. The husk or 
capsule of the bitter sweet is orange-colored 
and the berry inside is scarlet. The berries 
shrivel considerably in a warm room, but 
remain brilliant all winter. The fruit of 
euonymus is still more extraordinary because 
the capsule is always a different and con- 
trasting color from the berry, which is gener- 
ally orange colored. The capsule is either 
scarlet, pink, purple, yellowish, or white. 
Vivid as they are, the fruits are more or less 
hidden by their own foliage or overpowered 
by the splendor of the autumn colors of the 
landscape, but after the leaves have fallen 
the berries of Euonymus stand out with 
startling vividness. And whereas most ber- 
ried shrubs lose their attractiveness before 
the holidays, the burning bushes still “burn” 
in January and some of them even later. 
For this reason we might adopt the name 
‘“‘burning bushes” for the whole group, since 
we sadly need an English equivalent for 
euonymus. 
The pendant, long-stalked, berries of 
Euonymus are the ear-rings of the vegetable 
kingdom, and, to tell the truth, some of them 
might be considered ‘‘loud”’ if used too freely, 
especially those whose pink capsules border 
on the magenta. But outdoors, in winter, 
we are thankful for every bit of color we can 
get. 
What we have called “berry” is botan- 
ically an ‘‘aril,”’ i.e. a fleshy outgrowth from 
the seed near the scar or hilum. In many 
species of Euonymus, the aril is so large that 
it covers the seed entirely. In others the 
seed is conspicuous and adds a third color 
to the fruit. The seeds are usually white, 
sometimes black or scarlet. 
All the spec‘es are shrubs, but five of them 
also take on the form of a small tree. 
The flowers of Euonymus are inconspic- 
285 
uous, greenish, whitish, or purplish, and 
attract no attention. 
I. The Six Tall Species 
The six species first described grow fifteen 
feet high, or more, some of them attaining 
an extreme height of thirty feet. 
The warty branched euonymus (&. verrucosus). 
Capsules yellowish red; berry orange; seeds black 
