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Euonymus fortunei

Common name:	Winter Creeper	Family:	Celastraceae
Author:	(Turcz.)Hand-Mazz.	Botanical references:	11, 58, 200
Synonyms:	Euonymus radicans (Siebold.)
Known Hazards:	Although no records of toxicity have been seen for this species, a number of plants in this genus are suspected of being poisonous and so some caution is advised.
Range:	E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.
Habitat:	Woods and thickets in low mountains all over Japan[58].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	E. fortunei var. radicans[B,G,P] E. japonicus var. acutus[G] E. japonicus var. radicans[G] E. radicans var. acutus[G] Elaeodendron fortunei[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Winter Creeper [P], Wintercreeper [DEN2], Wintercreeper Euonymus [H],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Celastrales. Bittersweet family
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen climber growing to 4.5m by 10m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 5. It is in leaf all year, in flower in July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, Walls, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Cancer Women's complaints.

Plants contain the anticancer compound dulcitol[218].
The plant is used in gynaecological applications[218].

Other Uses

Ground cover Hedge.

A good evergreen ground cover plant[184, 200]. The sub species E. fortunei radicans and E. fortunei carrieri are particularly useful, other forms to use include 'Emerald and Gold', 'Emerald Gaiety', 'Coloratus', 'Dart's Carpet' and 'Kewensis[182, 188, 197].
Plants can be grown as a low hedge[29], the varieties 'Emerald and Gold' and 'Variegatus' are normally used. They are very tolerant of clipping[200].

Cultivation details

Thrives in almost any soil, including chalk, and is particularly suited to dry shaded areas[200]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Prefers a well-drained loamy soil. Thrives in sunny positions and in deep shade[11, 182], though it does not fruit so well in the shade.
Plants are hardy to about -18° c[202].
A shrubby somewhat creeping plant that can also climb by means of aerial roots[184], if placed by a support, a wall, tree or fence, the plant will start to climb it and will be self-attaching to a large degree[182, 219]. Plants do not normally require pruning[219].
Plants have two forms of growth, a juvenile form and a mature form when the plants come into flower[219]. Plants in Britain often retain the juvenile form and never flower[219].
A polymorphic species[58], there are a number of named varieties selected for their ornamental value[182, 202].

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[78, 98]. 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.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm long taken at a node or with a heel, July/August in a frame. Very easy[200].

Cultivars

'Variegatus': A variegated form it can be grown as a low hedge[29] and is very tolerant of clipping[200]. This can be seen as a juvenile form of the species that gradually develops towards the adult flowering form[11].
'Kewensis': A dwarf form, forming a clump perhaps 5cm tall, the branches rooting as they spread outwards. It makes a good evergreen ground cover plant[184, 200]. If planted by shrubs it will eventually change its growth habit and use the branches of the shrub as supports for climbing[11].
'Emerald Gaiety': This variegated form grows about 1.2 metres tall[11] and makes a good evergreen ground cover plant[184, 200]. When planted by a wall it will climb up the wall[11].
'Emerald and Gold': A particularly useful variegated form, it has a spreading habit and grows up to 1 metre tall. It makes a good evergreen ground cover plant[11, 184, 200] and can also be grown as a low hedge[29]. It is very tolerant of clipping[200].
'Dart's Carpet': A juvenile form of the species with a creeping habit, the branches rooting as they spread. It grows to about 35cm tall[200]. Similar to 'Coloratus', but said to be an improvement on that cultivar[11]. It occasionally develops into the adult form and can then become a large shrub[11]. The leaves on this form turn crimson-purple in the autumn and remain so throughout the winter[11]. It makes a good evergreen ground cover plant[184, 200].
'Coloratus': A juvenile form of the species with a creeping habit, the branches rooting as they spread. It occasionally develops into the adult form and can then become a large shrub[11]. The leaves on this form turn crimson-purple in the autumn and remain so throughout the winter[11]. It makes a good evergreen ground cover plant[184, 200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Euonymus fortunei var. radicans (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Celastraceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[29] Shepherd. F.W. Hedges and Screens. Royal Horticultural Society. 1974 ISBN 0900629649
A small but informative booklet giving details of all the hedging plants being grown in the R.H.S. gardens at Wisley in Surrey.

[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[98] Gordon. A. G. and Rowe. D. C. f. Seed Manual for Ornamental Trees and Shrubs.
Very comprehensive guide to growing trees and shrubs from seed. Not for the casual reader.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[197] Royal Horticultural Society. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells. 1989 ISBN 0-304-31089-1
A handy little booklet from the R.H.S.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[202] Davis. B. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking. 1990 ISBN 0-670-82929-3
Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[219] Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls Collins 1983 ISBN 0-00-219220-0
A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.

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