Spindle

Our plant this month is Spindle, Euonymus europaeus, Feoras.

Flowering May- June. Fruiting September- November.

Spindle is a decidious native shrub or small tree, a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae. A plain shrub that comes alive with unbelievable colours in Autumn.

It appears in roadside hedges occasionally usually in relatively old and botanically diverse hedges. We are lucky in Kilteevan. to have old diverse hedges. There is lots of Spindle to be found.

The flowers are small greenish yellow, hardly visible, but the fruit from the tiny flowers are very noticeable. The fruit is green through summer gradually developing to dull, four cornered, pink-red fruits.

The fruits are carried in clusters dangling from flowers stems. Over a period of a few weeks the red fruits spilt, creating their own fireworks, revealing bright orange seeds .   The orange and crimson contrast is very eye-catching but beware Spindle is toxic if ingested.

Spindle is one of the few trees to get its name from one of its traditional uses.

The name harks back to a time when the plants dense white wood was used for making wool spinning spindles as well as knitting needles. It was also used for the bars in bird cages in times when wire was not available or affordable.  

In more recent times Spindle wood is used in the production of skewers and toothpicks as it can be cut to a sharp point without breaking.

Be alert for Spindle and admire its beauty as you ramble The Groves of Kilteevan.  Our photo taken by an amateur photographer in Kilteevan.