2. Euonymus americanus L. (strawberry bush, brook euonymus)

Pl. 350 a–c; Map 1505

Plants erect or ascending shrubs with often spreading branches, 1–2 m tall, the lowermost branches occasionally rooting. Twigs green, 4-angled but not winged. Leaves relatively thin and herbaceous, deciduous, subsessile, the petiole to 1 mm long. Leaf blades 2–9 cm long, 1–4 cm wide, lanceolate to elliptic or ovate, narrowed or tapered at the base, narrowed or tapered to a usually sharply pointed tip, the margins finely and usually bluntly toothed. Inflorescences axillary clusters of 2 or 3 or solitary flowers, often all but 1 flower aborting during development. Sepals 5, 1–2 mm long. Petals 5, 2–4 mm long, 2–3 mm wide, broadly spatulate with a short, stalklike base, greenish yellow, sometimes tinged with purple or brown, the margins mostly entire. Fruits 14–16 mm long, 3–5-lobed most of their length, the valves strongly warty, pink to red or purplish red. Seeds 1–6 per locule, 4–5 mm long. 2n=64. April–June.

Uncommon, mostly in the Mississippi Lowlands Division and eastern portion of the Ozarks (eastern U.S. west to Missouri and Texas). Swamps, bottomland forests, mesic upland forests in ravines, and bases of sheltered bluffs.

This species is distinguished by its erect habit, more or less elliptic leaves, and strongly tuberculate, usually red fruits that, when ripe, bear a superficial resemblance to strawberries. Steyermark (1963) noted that the leaves tend to be a darker green than those of the other native species and that it is an attractive shrub in the garden. It is becoming increasingly available in plant nurseries. As discussed below, E. americanus is very similar to E. obovatus, and the two taxa were considered one species by Ma (2001).