Holy Burning Bush!

Days are getting shorter and the weather is getting cooler. There is at least one thing to look forward to, the brilliant colors of the trees around us in the Adirondacks. However, there is a plant that may take the show from the rest.

The Burning Bush gets its name from the fiery colors its leaves turn in the autumn which can be amusing to the human eye. The Burning Bush is also known as the Winged Euonymus because of the corky ridges that protrude from its branches. The scientific name is Euonymus alata; Euonymus meaning spindles and alata meaning winged in Latin. Some think it gets its name from the Bible, when Moses comes across a burning bush in the desert, but most likely it is because of the spectacular show it puts on in the autumn.

This plant produces a purple fruit that grows in clusters and split open when they are ripe revealing bright red insides that adds to the burning effect.

Some species of this plant can grow to over 15 feet high, with dwarf species growing slightly smaller.

It is originally from Asia, giving it an invasive status here. They were brought over to North America in the mid-1800s as oriental decorative plants.

The Burning Bush can be a problem for native species of plants, because they take over large thickets of natural forest. The original plant can produce many unwanted seedlings; because of those unwanted seedlings, there have been mass over takings in the eastern United States of these plants. Once their root system is in place, it can be very hard for other plants to grow.

Many people enjoy having these plants in their yards because of the brilliant colors they produce in the autumn. They are very easy to take care of, but they can overtake an open space if they are not monitored properly. They lose their leaves in the winter like many trees and shrubs in the Northeast, but they come back in the spring to get ready for their autumn show all over again.