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need to id a plant, maybe Strawberry bush

19 years ago

I want to identify a wild plant that I think could be Wahoo or it might just be a burning bush volunteer. Could someone tell me how to tell them apart this time of year?

It still has some leaves on it and they're still red but the burning bushes I've seen lately are already leafless so I was hoping it was something native rather than burning bush. The leaves also seem smaller but it's partly in the shade so could that cause it to look different?

Is there anything else similar? It had very bright red fall color. The leaves are about an inch long and I think they were opposite. It had lost more than half of its leaves so sort of hard to tell. The stems did not look squared off like burning bush but maybe a few ridges if you look very closely.

I did not see any fruit. How long does it hang on? Maybe I could go back and look at it again next summer.

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Comments (5)

philmont_709n2
19 years ago
a wahoo would have fruit that is smooth and larger than the invasive burning bush. also i have seen that wahoos are usually alot more tree like, and dont branch out as much. i think strawberry bush is the same as wahoo in these traits except the fruit is lumpy.
Iris GW
19 years ago
Hearts a bustin' (Euonymus americana) is what we call strawberry bush. It does not have bright red foliage. One plant with bright red foliage is blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum is the one around here now with bright red leaves). The bark on it is slightly flaky on mature plants.

We don't have Euonymus atropurpurea (eastern wahoo). Here is a link to various Euonymus species.

Here is a link that might be useful: Euonymus
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john_mo
19 years ago
How about looking for the 'wings' -- actually, corky ridges -- on the twigs. These can vary in their width, but they are usually obvious on the twigs of winged euonymus, the common invasive 'burning bush'. (See photos at linked site.) My strawberry bushes have smooth greenish bark on the twigs, and I think wahoo does too.

Here is a link that might be useful: winged euonymus
knottyceltic
19 years ago
Esh, you *should* have Native Burning Bush/Eastern-Wahoo or Euonymus atropurpureus in GA. Here's the USDA link to it's natural range map:

Looking under "native burning bush":
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=EUAT5

Looking under "eastern wahoo":
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=EUATA2

Looking under "Strawberry Bush", "Euonymus obovata" or "Running Strawberry Bush" you find it has a similar but smaller range:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=EUOB8

As for ID I'm not much help. Running Strawberry bush tends to be more like a ground-hugging, ground cover averaging about 1-2 feet off the ground up here in Southern Ontario. I would have no idea what it looks like furhter south.

Barb
knottyceltic
19 years ago
I should have also mentioned that "European Spindle Tree" looks a LOT like the native BurningBush/Wahoo but also a lot like the "Winged Euonymus" which is also non-native. Sorry to make things even MORE complicated but thought you aught to know because a decade or more back, it was popular to plant European Spindletree and there could be escapees from gardens as well.

Barb

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