Euonymus carnosis

Just when I thought I knew most of the trees that can grow around here, I find another I never knew existed. Meet euonymus carnosis!

I was picking stuff up at a distant nursery and saw what I thought was a dogwood that hadn’t lost its leaves yet at a point in our season when not one tree has any leaves. I was excited to have found a cultivar of dogwood with lasting fall foliage.

The deep maroons and reds shone in the mid-day sun and the foliage looked unmolested by insects and disease. It’s shape was crape myrtle-looking, perfectly proportioned and smallish.

I looked this tree up and found that the specimen I was looking at was fully mature, that it is native to Asia, and is extremely hardy (zone 4-7). It’s fragrant “forever” creamy white flowers feed honey bees, and birds eat it’s berries. I bought two, and will be happy to plant them in my yard if they don’t sell.

​https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=291433&isprofile=0&