Wintercreeper

Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei), sometimes called Winter Creeper, Purple-leaf wintercreeper or Climbing euonymus, is an invasive species of flowering shrub in the Rosid clade. It is native to East Asia and was introduced to the west in the mid 19th century by Scottish explorer Robert Fortune, whose surname appears in the plant's scientific name. Wintercreeper became popular as a ground cover because of its hardiness, year-round color and dense growth.

The plant is normally found as a low ground cover, sinking new roots as it spreads and climbing vertical surfaces. It can also grow into a brushy mound or even a shrub. Wintercreeper has lustrous dark green leaves, 1" to 2" long, in an ovate to elliptical shape. The leaves of most commercial varieties (sometimes designated "Coloratus" or "purple-leaf") turn to a dark purple in the fall. Its inconspicuous greenish-white flowers, seen rarely except on higher parts of the mature plant, appear from late April to early July. The plant then bears small pinkish berry-like seedfruits which persist into December. The plant self-propagates by spreading and generating new roots from lateral shoots, as well as by having its seeds dispersed by animals.

Wintercreeper was brought across the Atlantic Ocean as a garden plant in 1907. It has since spread to uncultivated areas, mainly immature or disturbed forest areas, near cities, in the Eastern United States and Canada. Where conditions are favorable, it is now considered an invasive species, crowding out native plants and capable of overtopping small trees, starving them of sunlight. It is vulnerable in the southwestern part of its range to Texas root rot (Phymatotrichum omnivorum). Young, less-established plants are also somewhat vulnerable to foraging animals such as rabbits.

References

• "Euonymus fortunei" (October 24, 2015) Wikipedia - accessed December 3, 2015