Scientific name: Euonymus europaeus L.
Common name: Spindle-tree
Description
Habit: A much-branched, deciduous, woody shrub or small tree, to 5 m high.
Leaves: Opposite, short-stalked, simple, oval, pointed, entire to toothed.
Flowers: Whitish green, actinomorphic, 8-10 mm across, in small axillary cymes; sepals, petals and stamens 4; ovary superior.
Fruits: A fleshy capsule, 8-15 mm across, pinkish red, splitting to expose the succulent, orange coverings around the seeds.
Twigs: Green, 4-angled.
Bark: Stems greenish red, turning grey in older bark.
Habitat: Scrub, hedges and limestone pavement.
Distribution: Common on limestone, rare elsewhere.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No