Virginia Tech Dendrology

spreading euonymus Celastraceae Euonymus kiautschovicus Loes. symbol: EUKI5
Leaf: Opposite, evergreen to semi-evergreen, thickened and leathery, 2 to 3 inches long, elliptical to obovate, serrate, dark glossy green with lighter veins, lighter beneath.
Flower: Perfect, small (1/4 inch), creamy white to yellow-green appear in small 4 inch wide open clusters in mid-summer, somewhat showy.
Fruit: Dry pink capsules (1/3 inch) that split open to reveal small orange-red seeds, ripen in fall and persist into winter.
Twig: Slender, green, slightly angled; buds pointed, straw-colored.
Bark: Gray-brown, thin, initially smooth.
Form: A low branching shrub to 10 feet, commonly shaped as a hedge.
Looks like: wintercreeper - Chinese holly - Japanese privet

Additional Range Information: Euonymus kiautschovicus is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and is not known to widely escape cultivaton. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information