Common Name: Spindle Tree

General Information

Euonymus europaeus is a deciduous shrub or small tree with erect stems; it can grow from 2 - 10 metres tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of materials, possibly also as a food. It has potential for cultivation as a source of latex[, ].
Euonymus europaeus has a wide distribution, the population appears to be stable and there are no known threats to the species.The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].
The species is considered an invasive species in the United States and New Zealand[].

Known Hazards

The seeds are poisonous[].
We have seen no other specific reports of toxicity for this species, but there is a report in the Flora of the USSR Volume 14 that all parts of the plants in this genus are more or less poisonous[].

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Europe, including Britain, from Sweden south and east to Spain, the Caucasus and W. Asia

Habitat

Forest margins, clearings and open woodland. Usually found as an understory species in mixed broadleaved oak-hornbeam forests, growing optimally on well-drained alkaline soils[] Woods, scrub and hedges, usually on calcareous soils[, ].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	6.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A very cold-hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -25°c[].
An easily grown plant, it thrives in almost any soil, including chalk, and is particularly suited to dry shaded areas[]. Prefers a well-drained loamy soil[]. If cultivated for its latex it is best grown in a dry open position[, ].
A very ornamental plant, there are many named varieties[].
This species is often damaged by caterpillars during the flowering season[]. It is a favoured home for blackfly, so should not be grown near broad beans[].

Edible Uses

An edible yellow dye is obtained from the fruit and seed[, , , ]. Pink from the fruit case, orange from the seed[]. These reports should be treated with some caution since many members of this genus are poisonous.

One report suggests that the plant is a source of a manna[], there are no further details.

Medicinal

The bark is alterative, cholagogue, hepatic, laxative, stimulant and tonic[, ]. The root bark is the part normally used, though bark from the stems is sometimes employed as a substitute[]. In small doses it stimulates the appetite, in larger doses it irritates the intestines[]. The bark is especially useful in the treatment of liver disorders which follow or accompany fevers[].

The seeds are strongly emetic and purgative[].

The fruits, like other parts of the plant, have a highly disagreeable taste and even the smallest doses are effective in inducing vomiting and strong diarrhoea, apparently because of the thick fatty oils in the seeds[].

The fresh leaves, and the dried fruit and seeds, are used externally to treat scabies, lice (head, body or pubic), ticks and other skin parasites[, ].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant can be used as part of an informal mixed hedge[].
Planted in France for stabilizing sand dunes[].

Other Uses

The whole plant yields a volatile oil that is used in soap making[, ]. Other reports say that the oil is obtained from the seed[, , , ]. It is possible that there are two oils, an essential oil from the plant and an oil from the seed[].

A good yellow dye is obtained from the fleshy coating around the seeds[]. This becomes green with the addition of alum, but unfortunately both colours are rather fugitive[].

The baked and powdered berries are used to remove lice from the hair[, , ], they are also used as an insecticide[]. The leaves are used[].

Roots yield up to 4% gutta-percha, a non elastic rubber used as an electrical insulation and for making plastics[].

The yellowish wood whitens upon contact with air. Odoriferous when freshly cut, it is very hard, easily split, fine-grained, not durable[, , , ]. It turns very well and is commonly used for spindles, skewers, knitting needles, toothpicks, carving etc[, , , ].
A high quality charcoal is obtained from the wood, it is used by artists and also for making gunpowder[, , , ]. It is especially valued for drawing because it is easily erased without leaving a trace[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 8 - 12 weeks warm followed by 8 - 16 weeks cold stratification and can then be sown in a cold frame[]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
One report says that the seed can be sown in an outdoors seedbed in early spring with good results[]. Grow the seedlings on for two years in the seedbed before planting them out into their permanent positions.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm long taken at a node or with a heel, mid summer in a frame. Very easy[].
Cuttings of mature wood, late autumn in a frame[].
Layering in mid summer. Takes 14 months[].