Appearance
Euonymus fortunei is an evergreen perennial vine that was introduced as an ornamental groundcover. It is native to China, Japan, and Korea.

Foliage
Leaves are opposite, glossy, dark green, oval, slightly toothed, with light-colored veins, about 1-2.5 in. (2.5-6.4 cm) long.

Flowers
Flowers are small and greenish with four petals on long branched stalks.

Fruit
Fruits are small round pink-red capsules that split open to expose seeds with red-orange arils.

Ecological Threat
Euonymus fortunei is a vigorous vine that invades forest openings and margins. It grows across the ground, displacing herbaceous plants and seedlings and climbs trees high into the tree canopy by clinging to the bark. Forest openings, caused by wind, insects or fire are especially vulnerable to invasion. Euonymus fortunei has been reported to be invasive in natural areas in most of the states in the eastern half of the U.S. It can tolerate a broad range of environmental conditions ranging from full sun to deep shade, and acidic to basic and low nutrient soils, but it does not grow well in heavy wet soils. Look-alikes are the native Partridge berry (Mitchella repens) and the invasive Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and common periwinkle (Vinca minor).

Resources

• A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests - USDA Forest Service
• Weeds Gone Wild: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas - Plant Conservation Alliance
• Weed of the Week - USDA Forest Service
• Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas - National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Selected Images

Maps

Invasive Listing Sources

• Alabama Invasive Plant Council
• City of Ann Arbor Michigan Parks and Recreation
• Delaware Invasive Species Council
• Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council - Category 3
• Hoffman, R. & K. Kearns, Eds. 1997. Wisconsin manual of control recommendations for ecologically invasive plants. Wisconsin Dept. Natural Resources, Bureau of Endangered Resources. Madison, Wisconsin. 102pp.
• Indiana Invasive Species Council - Invasive Plant List
• Indiana Terrestrial Plant Rule
• Invasive Plant Species of West Virginia
• Jil M. Swearingen, Survey of invasive plants occurring on National Park Service lands, 2000-2007
• John Randall, The Nature Conservancy, Survey of TNC Preserves, 1995.
• Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council - Severe Threat
• Maine Invasive Plants
• Maryland Code and Regulations of Invasive Plants
• Maryland Cooperative Extension Service.  2003. Invasive Plant Control in Maryland. Home and Garden Information Center, Home and Garden Mimeo HG88. 4 pp.
• Maryland Department of Natural Resources Policy: Restriction on Planting Exotic Invasive Plants
• Maryland Invasive Species Council - Invasive Species of Concern in Maryland
• Missouri SRISP Species List
• National Park Service, Mid-Atlantic Exotic Plant Management Team Invasive Plant List
• New Hampshire Invasive Plant Species Watch List
• New Hampshire Invasive Species Committee. 2005. Guide to Invasive Upland Plant Species in New Hampshire. New Hampshire Department of Agriculture,  Markets and Food Plant Industry Division and New Hampshire Invasive Species Committee.
• New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team 2017 Invasive Species List
• New York Regulated and Prohibited Invasive Species - Regulated
• Non-Native Invasive Plants of Arlington County, Virginia
• Non-Native Invasive Plants of the City of Alexandria, Virginia
• Nonnative Invasive Species in Southern Forest and Grassland Ecosystems
• Ohio Invasive Species Council
• Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Invasive Plants
• Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas
• Rhode Island Natural History Survey
• South Carolina Invasive Pest Council
• Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council
• Virginia Invasive Plant Species List
• Virginia Master Naturalists Priority Species List
• WeedUS - Database of Plants Invading Natural Areas in the United States
• West Virginia Invasive Species Strategic Plan and Volunteer Guidelines 2014
• West Virginia Native Plant Society, Flora West Virginia Project, and West Virginia Curatorial Database System, September 3, 1999

References