Euonymus americanus
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photo, Renee Brecht |
Britton & Brown |
| Botanical name: | Euonymus americanus |
| Common name: | American strawberry, bursting-heart |
| Group: | dicot |
| Family: | Celastraceae |
| Growth type: | forb/herb; subshrub |
| Duration: | perennial |
| Origin: | native |
| Plant height: | 4-6' |
| Foliage: | narrow, opposite, finely toothed leaves, four angled green twigs |
| Flower: | 1/3" across, greenish yellow |
| Flowering time: | blooms early May to mid June; fruits late September to late October. fruit resembles a strawberry; when ripe the capsule splits open revealing four or five red seeds. |
| Habitat: | low, rich moist ground of wooded swamps |
| Range in New Jersey: | throughout the inner coastal plain and Delaware Bay area |
| Heritage ranking, if any: | n/a |
| Distribution: |  |
| Misc. | Witmer Stone says of this plant, "Few shrubs are more characteristic of low, dark woodlands of West Jersey. Although the blossoms are inconspicuous, the peculiar green coloration of the branches and stems, and the glossy leaves, make the plant easily recognizable, while in the autumn the bright red seeds and their crimson pod-like covering make bright spots of color in the leafless woods" (542). |