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<DIV>It was back on December 8, 2004 that I posted the question reproduced
below. I received several responses and appreciate the feedback. I thought I
would summarize what I learned. First, there seem to be no reports of
hybridization between Euonymus americanus, the North American native, and Eu.
alatus.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Second, it was suggested that the fruit would be a key character of
any suspected hybrid. On closer examination I found that each individual that
showed any fruit had either the americanus fruit type or the alatus fruit type;
no individuals had fruit that appeared intergrade.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Third, I was asked the fair question, why did I suspect hybridization. My
impression is that some americanus individuals show suggestions of alatus
characters, primarily:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>hints of brown markings on the stems, though of course short of "wings";
and</DIV>
<DIV>a growth aspect and twigginess that seems more alatus-like.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The fact that there is one patch where a number of americanus and alatus
individuals are growing together, with some plants of the different species
separated by less than a meter, increased my concern.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Please forgive my inarticulateness about characters etc; I am not a
botanist and it shows!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I am now persuaded that it is unlikely that I am seeing any hybrids. From
my standpoint such euonymus hybridization would be a worrying and "bad"
thing but I understand why there was horticultural interest in the possibility.
My focus is on invasive plant management.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Finally, should anyone who is interested be in or planning to visit the
Washington, DC area, please feel free to contact me if you would like to have a
look at the euonymus patch mentioned above.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Cheers,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> Steve Young</DIV>
<DIV> Arlington, Virginia</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>My original post text follows:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>My local park (Long Branch Nature Center/Glencarlyn Park, Arlington, VA)
has populations of the native Euonymus americanus (Hearts-a-burstin',
Strawberrybush) and the exotic invasive, Euonymus alatus (Winged Euonymus,
Burning Bush). I have seen some plants that sure look like they are a hybrid of
the two species. Does anyone know whether such hybrids have been reported, or
have you made similar observations that you can share? I eliminate the obvious
individuals of Eu. alatus, but some of the "hybrids" really have me stymied and
I'm debating the best approach to take with them. Any info is greatly
appreciated. Cheers,<BR><BR>
Steve<BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>