Spindle

Acting on a tip-off from a neighbour I went in search of wild Spindle trees today.

They were a bit off the beaten track but Wow! Once you find them there's no ignoring them.   

Spindle (Euonymus europaeus) isn't a rarity by any means but you don't see much of it in the wild around where I live, for some reason. That's odd as they love chalky soils. Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong places? 

I mostly find it in people's gardens where it's used as an ornamental plant. And who wouldn't? Those gloriously pink popcorn-shaped fruits with their bright orange seeds inside would brighten up any Autumn garden. 

These were growing in a small irregular cluster of four trees on open land - I suspect that the tallest of them was planted (or escaped from a garden) and the others have been sown naturally.

The name Spindle gives us a clue as the plant's usefulness. The wood is creamy-white, hard and very dense. What's more, the twigs grow very straight. This meant that the tree was a useful source of such things as spindles for spinning, as well as for skewers, toothpicks, pegs and knitting needles. Today, spindle timber is used to make high-quality charcoal for artists. 

The fruits are toxic to humans (and have a laxative effect) but they were once baked and powdered and used to treat head lice or mange in cattle. 

Spindle is hermaphrodite, meaning each flower contains both male and female reproductive parts. The white flowers have four petals and grow in clusters in May and June.

I'm told that there are places where Spindle is so common that whole hedgerows are a riot of pink. I've never seen that.

But I'd like to.