Notes on Euonymus planipes

On October 20th 1999, when having arrived at the ice-hall with my son for his ice hockey match, I detected a small individual of an unknown bush in the near-by woods in Pirkkola, Helsinki. A twig and some shed leaves were collected as a specimen. Obviously it concerned some cultivated ornamental species that had escaped. During subsequent seasons I found more individuals of the species and succeeded in identifying it as Euonymus planipes (Koehne) Koehne (E. sachalinensis auct.; Celastraceae). In the following I describe the Pirkkola occurrence in detail as the species only very occasionally has been escaped from cultivation in Finland.
    Some species of the genus are cultivated as ornamentals, mainly due to the bright red autumn colours of their fruits (and leaves in some cases). E. planipes, for instance, is not rarely cultivated in Finland. The species is native to easternmost Asia: Sakhalin, Korea, Japan, NE China. According to current floras, no species of Euonymus would occur in Finland, whether indigenous, introduced or naturalized. However, the more recent Flora of Helsinki (Kurtto, A. & Helynranta, L. 1998: Helsingin kasvit. - 400 pp. Helsingin ympäristökeskus & Yliopistopaino. Helsinki) report both E. europaeus and E. planipes as rare escapes in Helsinki. The occurrence of the latter is in forest and its status is judged as established. The Botanical Museum (H) of the Finnish Museum of Natural History contains two specimens from escaped occurrences: one represents the stand cited in Flora of Helsinki while the other is from Vihti (likewise in forest).
    The Pirkkola occurrence of E. planipes consists of 131 individuals in an area of ca. 2 hectares. The area is situated roughly 30 metres above the sea level. Most plants are sterile but the taller ones are fertile. The plants are of very variable age, the youngest being recent seedlings while the oldest individuals are approximately 15-20 years old.
    For the most part the habitat is mesic and mesotrophic forest, a smaller area being rich forest, and a third portion comprises slightly moist woods. The dominant tree in the area is mostly spruce (Picea abies) but several deciduous trees are also present. Human influence is evident in the vegetation but E. planipes tends to dwell in the less disturbed portions, often in some shade such as under big spruce trees. Very often the bushes grow among blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) plants.

Photo Gallery

Fig. 1. Stems of Euonymus planipes with white lenticels in the bark: the left one somewhat over 10 years old, the right one somewhat younger than 10 years (Finland, Helsinki, 2001). – Photo: Harri Harmaja & Jörgen Palmgren.

Figs. 2-13. Euonymus planipes in situ in the course of  late summer and autumn (Finland, Helsinki, 2001). – Photo: Harri Harmaja.