Skip to main content

WildBristol.uk - Discovering Wildlife in Bristol

28.) CELASTRACEAE - Spindle family

CELASTRACEAE - Spindle family

EUONYMUS L.

  • Euonymus europaeus L. (Spindle) / Woodland Widely occurring in woods, hedgerows and scrub; predominantly on limestone. Noticeably absent from the Levels and Moors.

  • Euonymus latifolius (L.) Mill. (ssp. latifolius) (Large-leaved Spindle) General Extinct Recorded as planted at Lower Failand, North Somerset in 1932 by ?.

[also a BSBI record that might be within the region]

  • Euonymus japonicus Thunb. (Evergreen Spindle) Commonly grown for hedging and ornament and occasionally self-seeds.

  • Euonymus fortunei (Turcz.) Hand.-Mazz. (var. fortunei) (Fortune's Spindle) Widely grown and especially planted in car parks and other ugly planting schemes; most often as the white variegated cultivar 'Emerald Gaiety'. The yellow-green variegated cultivar 'Sheridan Gold' was found along Gravel Walk at Bath in 2024 by D. Peters. A young self-sown plant was found on a lane-side bank outside Prior's Wood in 2025 during a BNS meeting.

List:

  • Euonymus europaeus L. (Spindle) / Woodland
  • Euonymus latifolius (L.) Mill. (ssp. latifolius - Kew, GBIF) (Large-leaved Spindle)
  • Euonymus japonicus Thunb. (Evergreen Spindle)
  • Euonymus fortunei (Turcz.) Hand.-Mazz. (var. fortunei - Kew, GBIF) (Fortune's Spindle)

Species to add:

  • Euonymus latifolius (L.) Mill. (ssp. latifolius - Kew, GBIF) (Large-leaved Spindle)
  • Euonymus japonicus Thunb. (Evergreen Spindle)
  • Euonymus fortunei (Turcz.) Hand.-Mazz. (var. fortunei - Kew, GBIF) (Fortune's Spindle)