Euonymus fortunei

Fortune’s spindle is in the Celastraceae family and is an evergreen shrub native to China, Korea, the Philippines and Japan. It also can grow as a vine, with a non-flowering juvenile, climbing or creeping phase like ivy. It is invasive in hotter climates in United States.

• Leaves are opposite pairs, elliptic to elliptic-ovate, 2–6 cm long and 1–3 cm broad, with finely serrated margins.
• Flower has a yellowish head 5 mm across, ringed partially by a reddish band, with 4 whitish-yellow, armour-like puffy petals stretching up to 8 mm from the flower head – quite an unusual flower when in full-bloom!
• Fruit is a 4-lobed pale green pod-like aril, which splits open to reveal the fleshy-coated orange seeds, one per lobe.
• It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, with numerous cultivars selected for such traits as yellow, variegated ('Emerald Gaiety’, 'Emerald 'n' Gold') and dwarf. It is used as a ground cover or a vine to climb walls and trees.