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Ripening fruit pods of the European spindle releasing its orange seeds

The European spindle (Euonymus europaeus), Better viewed On Black also known as the common spindle, is a deciduous shrub or small tree in the family Celastraceae, native to much of Europe, particularly in the centre, but is to be found in locations from Ireland and southern Scandinavia in the north, to northern Spain and Sicily in the south, and as far east as Lithuania. It is also to be found in Asia Minor and up to the Caucasus.

It grows to 3 to 6 m tall, rarely up to 10 m, with a stem up to 20 cm diameter. The leaves are opposite, and are lanceolate to elliptical, 3 to 8 cm long and 1-3 cm broad, with a finely serrated edge. In autumn they often show a beautiful bright red colour.

The hermaphrodite flowers are produced in late spring and are insect-pollinated; they are rather inconspicuous, small, yellowish green and grow in cymes of 3-8 together. The capsular fruit ripens in autumn, and is red to purple or pink in colour and approximately 1 to 1.5 cm wide. When ripe, the four lobes split open to reveal the orange seeds.
The fruit is poisonous, containing amongst other substances, the alkaloids theobromine and caffeine, as well as an extremely bitter terpene.
Poisonings are more common in young children, who are enticed by the brightly-coloured fruits. Ingestion can result in liver and kidney damage and even death.
The European spindle prefers the edges of forest, hedges and gentle slopes, tending to thrive on nutrient-rich, chalky and salt-poor soils.
Other names include Fusoria, Fusanum, Ananbeam, Shemshad Rasmi (Iran), Pfaffenhütchen (German).

Cultivation and uses
European Spindle wood is very hard, and can be cut to a very sharp point; it was used in the past for making spindles for spinning wool.

It is a popular ornamental plant in gardens and parks due to its bright pink or purple fruits and attractive autumn colouring, in addition to its resistance to frost and wind. It has been introduced to North America where it has become an invasive species in some areas.
From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_spindle

Uploaded on Nov 5, 2009 | Map

6 comments

After the rain

View of the Orb valley in Autumn. View On Black
Composed of 3 images (with differing exposures) tone mapped using Photomatix

Uploaded on Nov 4, 2009 | Map

9 comments

Bad Orb Kurpark in Autumn

Inspired by many of my contacts - Steve-h, Christopher Bienko, pentax hammer, katepedley, Serni, Morbit, Dimitri Depaepe, etc this is my first attempt at tone mapping using Photomatix.
I personally think that I've overdone it a bit but welcome any comments / suggestions.
View On Black
Composed of 3 images at differing exposures

Uploaded on Nov 1, 2009

4 comments

The last sunflowers of summer

Sunflowers in Autumn morning sunshine near Hof Sonnenberg Dairy farm

Uploaded on Oct 21, 2009 | Map

10 comments

Autumn fire

Sunset near Bad Orb

Uploaded on Oct 20, 2009 | Map

8 comments

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Axel-D uses Flickr – so can you!

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Ripening fruit pods of the European spindle releasing its orange seeds

After the rain

Bad Orb Kurpark in Autumn

The last sunflowers of summer

Autumn fire

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Indian Summer and sunsets

Bad Orb - spa town in the...

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