CLX. — THE SPINDLE-TREE. 
Euonymus europceus Linne. 
A LREADY by no means a common tree, the Spindle-tree is, by its very beauty, 
in some danger of being rendered yet more rare. It is the sole British 
representative of the Family Celastracea , a small group of trees and shrubs related 
to the Hollies, and, more remotely, to the Maples and Horse-chestnuts, and 
confined mainly to the Northern Hemisphere. 
The Family is characterised by its simple, undivided leaves ; by its small 
flowers with the parts in alternating whorls, with only a single whorl of stamens, and 
with one or two ovules in each of the chambers formed by its united carpels ; and 
by the fleshy disk in which the base of these carpels is sunk. More striking 
features are that the seeds each become wrapped round by a fleshy outer coat or 
“aril” ; and that the cotyledons or embryonic leaves are very generally already 
green whilst still within the seed. 
The name Euonymus , which dates from Theophrastus in the fourth century b.c., 
signifies “well-named” or “lucky”; but arises from the poisonous character of 
the plant. As the Irish peasant euphemistically speaks of the fairies as “ the good 
people ” because he is afraid of them, so the Greeks called their avenging deities, or 
Furies, the Eumenides or “kind folk,” and their mother Euonyme, “she whose 
name is good.” Such popular names as “Spindle-tree” and “Prick-wood,” and the 
French Fusain and Bois-a-lardoire y refer to the former use of its tough wood for 
making spindles and skewers ; whilst the French Bonnet de Pretre and the Flemish 
Kardinaalsmuts are apt allusions to the biretta-like shape and striking colour of 
the fruit. 
In Forfarshire there was formerly a considerable quantity of this species, which 
sometimes attained a considerable size, with trunks upwards of a foot in diameter. 
Its close-grained wood was then in considerable demand lor turnery, being used, 
with that of the Alpine Laburnum ( Cytisus alpinus ), for the staves, alternately 
yellowish-white and dark brown, of the little cups, known as “bickers” or 
“ luggies,” used for porridge or as drinking-vessels. Now, however, Holly-wood 
is generally substituted for that of the Spindle-tree. The freedom of the latter 
from any tendency to splinter made it suitable also for knitting-needles, whilst 
watchmakers can pare it down for the finest pegs they require in their work ; and 
its fine-grained charcoal is esteemed on the Continent for artists’ crayons. 
The Spindle-tree is most commonly seen as a hedgerow shrub, the vivid 
matt-green of its smooth shoots, with their opposite pairs of glossy leaves drawn 
out into graceful points, rendering it conspicuous even in spring and summer. 
The tree is somewhat exceptional in retaining the greenness of its shoots for several 
years, as it does not form opaque brown cork beneath the surface of the stem at as 
early a stage as do most woody plants. The predominance of the number four in 
