Pronounced (approximate): yoo-ON-ih-mus at-roh-pur-PUR-ee-us
A native woodland shrub with small purple flowers and showy pink to red fruit capsules that open to expose bright red seed coverings.
Eastern Wahoo (Euonymus atropurpureus): pink fruit capsules opening to reveal bright red arils. Tap the photo to open the gallery.
Family Celastraceae
Life cycle Deciduous woody shrub or small tree
Blooms May–July
Height 6 to 20 feet
Habitat Woodland edges, floodplains, stream banks and wooded slopes
Common names: Eastern Wahoo · Wahoo · Eastern Burning-bush · Eastern Spindle-tree
Bloom timing varies with latitude, weather and local conditions.
Explore reported observations. Sightings are not a complete range map.
Woodland edges, floodplains, stream banks and wooded slopes. Flowering season: May–July.
Winged Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus) has prominent corky stem wings and greenish flowers. European Spindle (Euonymus europaeus) also has lobed capsules but usually orange seed coverings and greenish-white flowers. Eastern Wahoo has purple flowers and finely hairy leaf undersides.
Four-lobed pink to red capsules split open to reveal bright red fleshy seed coverings called arils.
Opposite, finely toothed leaves have fine hairs on the underside; green young stems can show narrow corky lines.
Small maroon-purple flowers occur in branching clusters; stems lack the broad corky wings of Winged Burning Bush. Pair close views with a photograph of the whole plant.
1 field photograph. Select the photograph to enlarge it.
Native from southern Ontario through the central and eastern United States.
Reported U.S. distribution
AL, AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NH, NJ, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WV, WI
Includes native and introduced state records where listed; a state record does not imply occurrence in every county.
Observation maps show submitted records, not every place the plant occurs. Follow local access rules when visiting a site.
Practice recognizing Eastern Wahoo in the flower quiz, or compare it with other plants in the guide.
Field photographs: Where’s Wildlife.