Euonymus americanus
Common name: 
American Euonymus
Hearts-a-Burstin'
Strawberry Bush
Pronunciation: 
u-ON-i-mus a-mer-i-ka-nus
Family: 
Celastraceae
Genus: 
Euonymus
Synonyms: 
Euonymus americana
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Deciduous shrub, open, about 4-6 ft (1.2-1.8 m) high, suckering, stems 4-sided, green.  Leaves opposite, simple, lance-ovate to lanceolate, 4-9 cm long, 0.8-3 cm wide, tip pointed (acuminate), base wedge-shaped, serrate, flat medium green, in fall yellow-green to red.  Flowers reddish-greenish, 8 mm wide, 1-3 on a slender stalk, usually 5-petaled (3-5), petals clawed.  Fruit 3-5 lobed, about 1.5 cm across, pink to scarlet, covered with prickly warts, open to reveal seeds (aril) scarlet (source of common name, Hearts-a-Burstin').
  • Sun to part shade.  Best on a well-drained, humus rich, slightly acid soil.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 5    Native from New York to Florida, west to Texas, an understory plant often found in shady, moist forests.
  • americanus: of North America
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  • leaves and flowers

    leaves and flowers

  • flowers and leaves

    flowers and leaves

  • flower and leaf

    flower and leaf

  • leaves and fruit, fall

    leaves and fruit, fall

  • fruit, seeds and leaves, fall

    fruit, seeds and leaves, fall